Cameron and the Chocolate Factory
by The Ultimate Starkid
Summary: This is a retelling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory using Total Drama characters. Cameron is a poor boy who dreams of one day meeting the wonderful Chris Mclean and touring his chocolate factory! Will he get more then he asked for when he gets his wish? Will he get his wish? Come find out! My first fanfic
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Yet another cold winter. It's a good thing I don't have to be outside, just the rest of the world," said Chris Mclean from his office. It was indeed cold out: the temperatures outside had dropped below zero for the third day in a row. Chris sat in his favorite armchair, the one that faced the tinted window. It had a great view of the city. Mumbling to himself, Chris said, "Man, I keep feeling like there's something I'm forgetting...Wait, the budget!" Chris frantically rushed over to his desk and pulled out a notebook. "Ok, fourth quarter profits are down...add that, carry the 1...uh oh" he said as he perused the numbers. It occurred to him that his factory was in dire straits. The rent for his factory was extravagant: even at the peak of Mclean Chocolate, LLC, he felt like he paid too much for the location. It was nice, sure, even a little large for the area, but it seemed like he could have moved anywhere else ten years and saved some money. Alas, too late for that now. Profits were down. People were still buying the candy, but years of unwise investments had made Mclean Chocolate a shell of its former self. "Chef!", Chris yelled. In a few seconds, Chef Hatchet, Chris' trusted confidant, entered the room.

"What seems to be the matter, boss?", Chef asked mundanely, as Chris always yelled for him multiple times a day.

"The problem is the company is going downhill! We're facing a crisis we haven't seen since the Slugworth days! We need a solution to make some money, and we need one fast!"

"We could start a reality show. Feels like everybody's doing that these days."

Suddenly, Chris had an idea. An awful idea. Chris had a wonderful, awful idea.

"I've got it", he said with a mischievous smile. "We put some tickets in tickets in candy bars that offer a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to tour the world-famous Mclean Chocolate Factory! People will want to win, and they'll buy boatloads of chocolate, which will send profits through the roof! They have to be kids, though. Happy kids will give us a good public image. Then, all we have to do is give a silly tour of the factory and give them a lot of chocolate, and we're set for at least the next 10 quarters! What do ya think, old buddy?"

"Chris, are you sure this is gonna work?", Chef asked. "Don't you think that's a huge risk?"

"Oh, it absolutely is. But can you imagine the rewards? I-I mean we-won't have to work for the rest of our lives! We can spend winters in the Bahamas and winters in Rome! There's no way this could go wrong!", Chris responded, raising his voice gradually until he was at a full-blown yell at the end of his spiel.

"Geez, man, lower your voice! Fine, we'll do it. But we have to take into account how many people we want to allow to visit the factory! How many tickets do you think we should print? Where should we distribute them?"

"Don't worry about the distribution, I'll take care of that," Chris told his weary friend. "But you raise a good point? How many should we print? How does 22 tickets sound?"

"Nah, that's too many. We need to keep it small. Simple is better."

Chris thought for a second and said "How about five? Not too big, not too small."

"Sounds good to me," Chef responded. "I'll start telling the workers to design the tickets right now!"

"Make sure they're golden!" Chris shouted as Chef left the office. "Five Golden Tickets, hidden in five random candy bars, unwrapped by five different kids! I can't wait!"

**What did you think of the prologue? For me, at least, the suspense is terrible...I hope it'll last. Please feel free to leave comments, questions, or critiques! I promise I'll read them!**


	2. Chapter 1: Meet Cameron!

Cameron Wilkins sighed as he looked out the classroom window. Another day of snow. Without a jacket, it was going to be really rough walking back. Nevertheless, Cameron was happy. What's more, he had a very good reason to be happy. Every day on his way back home from school, he passed by the Mclean Chocolate factory. Cameron loved Mclean chocolate, especially the smell of it. However, neither he nor his family could afford it. Cameron's dad worked in the toothpaste factory downtown. As far as job security went, Mr. Wilkins was in trouble: he was one of the workers who screwed the caps onto the tubes of toothpaste, but it seemed like every other day another worker was being laid off.

The final bell rang, loud and clear. Time to leave the comfort of the school and step out into the world, Cameron thought. He packed up his belongings and stepped into the hallway towards the door. He talked to a couple of his friends and was just about to reach the door when he heard a voice from behind him. "Hey, spazz! Where do you think you're going?", the owner of the voice said. It was a skinny, pale kid with orange hair wearing jeans and a light jacket.

"Geez, Scott, can't I just go home? It's been a rough day and all, and I'm sure you have better things to do than to-"

"Zip it, dork!", Scott said as he advanced menacingly towards Cameron. A small circle had gathered around the two of them, and many of the kids were watching them. Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a penny. "You're right, I decided to be charitable for one day. Here you go!" he said as he flipped the penny over to Cameron, who caught it with a glare. "Now you're making more money than your old man!"

Cameron's face turned a deep shade of red from both rage and humiliation. He wished this was an exaggeration. But Scott was at least partly right. Cameron's dad barely made enough to keep a roof over the family's head, and even then, the roof that was up there was cracked and leaking. Cameron turned back to face Scott, head lowered, and in a quiet voice said "Is that it? Can I go?"

"Ah, what the hell, I told you I was feeling generous. I'll give you a rain check on that beating I was gonna give ya! Now get outta here!", Scott said.

Cameron was more than happy to oblige as he took off running, barely missing the snowball that would have hit him square in the back of the head. Once he got a couple blocks away from the school, Cameron stopped to catch his breath. As he breathed in, he caught a whiff of something. It had a warm, delicious smell to it. Cameron excitedly looked up as he saw the towering spire of the Mclean chocolate factory in the distance. The smell of chocolate instantly calmed Cameron down and made him feel all warm and happy inside. All of his problems evaporated. Scott: gone. His family's money problems: gone. The fact that he had eaten nothing but cabbage soup and stale bread for the past week and a half: also gone. All that remained was chocolate. Oh, how Cameron would love to have one of those Mclean chocolate bars! Every year for his birthday, he got one for his family, but that was still weeks away. The smells would have to do until then.

Cameron was in so much of a trance that he hardly noticed the bulky man walk up to him. "Hey, kid! Everything alright?" the man said in a deep, gruff voice.

"Yeah, just smelling the air for a little bit, if that's ok!"

"Well, we have a store right downtown! Maybe go sniff the air over there. Maybe buy a candy bar too, while you're at it!"

Cameron sighed. "I wish I could, sir. I just don't really have the money to do so. Sniffing is enough for me!"

"Damn, kid, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to judge...Aw, hell, ya know what, take this." With that, the large man pulled a chocolate bar out of his pocket and gave it to Cameron. "Enjoy it, kid. And don't forget to watch the news tonight."

"Thank you so much!", Cameron shouted in awestruck glee. "You're a really good guy, Mr...umm…"

"Hatchet. Chef Hatchet. Now run along, kid."

Cameron practically devoured the chocolate bar as soon as he crossed the street. It was Peanut Chocolate Blitz, his favorite flavor. He was still smiling as he walked through the door of his house. The Wilkins house was built ages ago, and it showed. The paint was peeling in some places, the floorboards creaked when one stepped on them, and the walls had cracks in them. Despite that, Cameron and his family were happy with their house, because in it lived the family they loved the most. Alongside Cameron and his dad (Cameron's mother had tragically passed away two years before) lived both sets of grandparents: Mr. Wilkins' parents, Grandpa George and Grandma Georgina, and Mrs. Wilkins' parents, Grandma Josephine and Grandpa Joe. The four grandparents shared one bed, from which they hadn't moved in ages. No one really knew if they were still able to walk anymore, although Cameron swore he saw Grandpa Joe walking to the fridge about a year ago. As Cameron walked in the door, five pairs of eyes excitedly looked at him.

"Cameron! Nice to see you again!", said Grandma Georgina.

"Was school okay?", said Grandpa Joe.

"I hope those kids weren't mean to you again!", said Grandma Josephine.

"I'm hungry!", said Grandpa George (he had always been a bit slow in the head).

Cameron enthusiastically greeted his grandparents, excited to see them all after a long day at school. He ran over to greet his father in much the same way. "How was work at the toothpaste factory, Dad? Hopefully they didn't work you too hard!", he said to his dad.

"Oh, another day, another dollar! I'll tell you what, my day just got a lot better now that my whole family is home! By the way, dinner is ready; Bread and soup again...sorry", Mr. Wilkins replied, handing Cameron a bowl of cabbage soup.

After eating dinner with his family, Cameron got up the courage to ask a question. "Do you think we could watch some TV? I got all my homework done at school."

"Oh, sure", Mr. Wilkins replied. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Cameron remembered the words of that mysterious man he met outside of the factory, the one who told him to turn on the news. Cameron grabbed the remote and changed the channel over to the news broadcast. A young, brown-haired man was currently standing at the gates of the very same chocolate factory that Cameron stopped by every day. "Live for Channel 5 Action News, this is Topher Jones, reporting from outside the Mclean Chocolate Factory. Big news was released today from the man himself: Chris Mclean, who no one has seen in ten years, announced today that he is running a contest, and the prize is that 5 lucky children will get to tour the chocolate factory!"

At this, the whole Wilkins family gasped. "They're opening the factory again?", Grandpa Joe said.

"It can't be! I never thought this would happen!", said Grandma Josephine.

The news report continued. "5 golden tickets have been hidden inside random Mclean Chocolate bars all over the city, and the winners will not only receive a personal tour of the factory from Mclean himself, but they also get a lifetime supply of candy!"

Mr. Wilkins shut the TV off. "That's incredible! Man, I remember the chocolate Mclean used to make when I was just a young boy. To get a tour of the factory would be a dream come true for anyone!"

The four grandparents murmured their agreement. Cameron looked at everyone quizzically. "I know that the candy is amazing, but what's so special about Chris Mclean? Why is everyone going crazy over the tour of the factory?"

Everyone looked at Cameron, shocked. "Have we really never told you the story of Chris Mclean?", they all exclaimed.

"I don't think so...could you tell me now?", Cameron replied.


	3. Chapter 2: The First Two Tickets

"Chris Mclean", Grandpa Joe started, "is maybe the most amazing chocolatier and confectioner this world has seen in the last hundred years. He came out of nowhere one day, and started making chocolate that made everyone crazy! It was creamy, sweet, and filled with delectable pieces of anything you could imagine. Nuts, nougat, fruit, you name it! Anyway, Chris Mclean established his shop right where it is today almost twenty years ago, but it wasn't always so large: When he first opened it, it was scarcely bigger than this room!"

"That's right! I was the second employee he ever hired", Grandma Georgina continued. "I was only a cashier, but every day I worked there I felt like I had the most important job in the world. Mclean would always stop by with some new chocolate invention of his and ask me to try it. He would ask me what I thought, and he actually listened to me! Well, sometimes he did...depended on the day. But I loved working there. To see the smile on all the childrens' faces as they tasted the sweets still warms my heart to this day. For years, he ran a small shop, needing nothing more than smiles as payment. As well as money, of course. Eventually, he decided to renovate his factory."

Grandma Josephine picked up the story. "When we say renovate, Cameron, we mean he _renovated _the place. Suddenly, a huge factory popped up where the small one had been. It almost touched the rooftops!"

Cameron interjected. "Wow, is that the same factory that I pass every day on my way to school?"

"You bet it is!", exclaimed Mr. Wilkins. " Why, I remember going there as a child myself. Only the front room of the factory was open, but Chris Mclean himself was there! I remember feeling the same sense of wonder you probably feel whenever you walk by. He was nothing but nice to me, and even encouraged me to keep dreaming. Shame about what happened to him with the spies and all, though."

"Wait, what spies? Did Mr. Mclean hire spies to eliminate his competition? If so, that's a scummy thing to do. Totally removes the respect I was beginning to have for him!", said Cameron.

"Quite the opposite, lad" said Grandpa George. "The spies came for Mr. Mclean! After a while, Mclean noticed that O'Halloran's candy shop across the way had come up with their own version of Sticky Marshmallow Chocolate Bombs. He also noticed that Don's Chocolate somehow invented their own recipe for Crazy Nut Blasters! Mclean was convinced that spies were working among him, so he fired all his workers! There was no chocolate that came out of that factory for years, Cameron! Years!"

"But the factory is still up and running now! How can that be?", asked Cameron. The five adults looked at each other and shrugged innocently.

"No one really knows, bud. One day a couple of years ago a single truck came out of the factory with a fresh supply of chocolate, and the next thing you know, there was a genuine Mclean chocolate shop open downtown!", Mr. Wilkins explained.

"I never thought I'd see it run again...After I was fired, I thought for sure the factory would never open again! But it has, but no one ever goes in to the factory, and no one ever comes out! It's a mystery how they produce all that chocolate.", Grandma Georgina explained.

Cameron took all that in. "How was Mr. Mclean as a person, grandma?"

"Well, I'll tell you the truth. He could be a bit selfish, but when you make chocolate that tastes that good, I believe you have a right to be. Plus, he was always perfectly kind to me. I might even go as far to say he inspired me!"

"If that's the case, I really want to meet this man! I'm going to find one of those golden tickets, and I'm going to go to the factory and I am going to win that lifetime supply of candy!", Cameron shouted eagerly.

Mr. Wilkins winced. "I would love for you to win that prize, son, but unfortunately money is tight."

"But dad, my birthday is in two days.", Cameron said. "I'm gonna get a bar then, right?"

"We'll see, kiddo. Hopefully. Would some TV ease your mind?", Mr. Wilkins asked.

Cameron agreed, and the family gathered around the TV. The same brown-haired boy they had seen reporting the other night was standing outside a house. "Breaking news, everyone! This is Topher Jones from Channel 5 Action News, and we are getting word that one of Chris Mclean's fabled golden tickets has been found! We are live on the scene, and we're going to try and see if we can get an interview with the lucky winner." Topher opened the front door, where there was a full press conference going on in the kitchen. All the microphones were pointed at a rather large young man, with a shock of blonde hair, wearing a white shirt with a teal maple leaf on it. He was currently eating a slab of ribs, paying little mind to the cameras and flashing lights around him. Off to the side stood what looked like his parents, who were similarly rotund.

"Welcome, welcome! One question at a time, please. I'll see if I can get my little Owen to respond!", the woman said, beaming. Topher muscled his way forward and asked, "Owen Moore, how does it feel to be the first winner of the Golden Ticket, and therefore a lifetime supply of candy?"

Owen's ears perked up, and he stopped chewing, face still covered in barbeque sauce. He burped and responded, "Oh, man, it's so great! It'll be awesome for when I get hungry between my first and second lunch! Ya know, as soon as I saw that Mclean was giving away a tour of his factory _and _a lifetime supply of candy, I went straight to the candy store and bought 10 full boxes. It took a while, but on the seventh box, when I bit into one of the candy bars, I felt something weird. It tasted weird, too. Like spoiled butter. Anyways, I spit it out and saw that it was the corner of the Golden Ticket!"

Topher had a shocked, if not disgusted, look on his face, and it took him a second for him to regain his composure before he continued. "That's great, Owen, now are you going to share any of that candy with me?", he joked lightheartedly.

"No chance, dude! What a stupid question; I'm keeping it to myself!", Owen snarked, apparently missing the joke.

Topher listened to something in his headset. His eyes opened wide, and he headed for the front door. "Th-that's Owen Moore, everyone, the first Ticket winner! But we are just getting word that not only has one Golden Ticket been found today, but a second one has just been uncovered! We send you live over to our...other correspondent", he said with an eye roll, "Sierra Jefferson! She is live with the second winner."

The feed cut from Topher and onto a tall woman with long, braided black hair with purple extensions. She was standing inside a posh living room that looked immaculate. The room was decorated with many paintings and pictures, all of one person, who was sitting on the couch stroking a cat smugly, with her father looking on.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Sierra Jefferson with Channel 5 Action News, and I'm here with the _second _Golden Ticket finder, Heather Watson!" The girl on the couch smiled and posed for the camera. Heather was a taller Asian girl (not as tall as Sierra), and her raven hair fell straight down to her waist. She was wearing a maroon top with olive shorts, and her hair, neck and wrists were covered in adornments of the finest gems; she obviously came from money. Her smile, however, was anything but genuine: The only genuine thing about her was her attitude.

"Hello, Sierra, and hello to all you other poor people! I won the second Golden Ticket, and you didn't! How does that feel?"

"Pretty bad, actually", Sierra replied. "But nonetheless, how did you find your Golden Ticket, Heather?"

"Not to brag or anything, but my daddy helped me find it!", Heather replied before her father, a tall lanky man with black hair and a pencil-thin mustache spoke.

"Yes, that's quite right. I am Sir Nicholas Watson, and I am in charge of Watson's Peanuts, the largest and most profitable nut factory in the city. I usually don't venture out of the nut business, but when my daughter heard about Mclean's contest, she made it quite difficult for me to refuse helping her."

Heather nodded. "I've become quite good at getting my way. Whenever I want something, I usually just tell my daddy that I want it and he buys it for me. Here, I'll give a demonstration!" Heather then turned to her father and screamed "I WANT A GOLDEN TICKET DADDY! GET ONE FOR ME OR ELSE! YOU DON'T LOVE ME IF I DON'T GET ONE!"

Sierra was quite shaken up by this display, which had almost blown out her microphone, but Heather's father seemed unfazed; on the contrary, he was smiling. "Yes, that's what I came home to every day. I don't mind though. After a couple days of her 'caring loudly' at me, I bought a whole shipment of bars and gave them to my workers. I said to them, 'If no one here finds a Golden Ticket, I'll fire the lot of you!' Luckily for them, one of the workers found it, and here we are!"

"I still would've fired them, daddy,'' Heather said as she pouted. "They didn't thank me for saving their jobs. By the way, I need another pony. I'm bored of the other three."

"Of course, darling" said Mr Watson. "We are all so glad that Heather won the Golden Ticket, because now she is happy. And when Heather is happy, we're all happy."

Sierra took a second before she spoke. "Well, this has been a treat, Heather. Do you have anything else to say to the world before we sign off?"

"As a matter of fact, I do! I just want to tell the world that I won and they didn't! Plus I'm getting a lifetime supply of candy, so beat that, losers!"

Mr. Wilkins shut the TV off. "What horrible children" he said sadly.

The rest of the family murmured their agreement. "Boy, that fat kid really got me mad! All that food and he won't share any of it! Why does he get to have an unlimited supply of candy, and we don't?" said Grandpa George.

"Don't forget that spoiled brat! What was her name again, Heather? She just sounds like pure evil. Thank god you're not like that, Cameron" said Grandma Josephine.

Cameron just sat there in silence. Two tickets already gone. Time was running out.

**Thank you for everyone who has been following along and leaving reviews! This is my first fanfic and I am glad that people are liking the story so far! Please don't be shy to critique me or review my work. How did this chapter turn out? I'm happy that I was able to introduce Owen and Heather, but I feel like I may have cut off Mclean's origin story just a bit. Let me know!**


	4. Chapter 3: Four Down, One to Go

A couple of days had passed, and the days grew colder. What also grew was everyone's appetite for Mclean chocolate bars. The shop downtown was reporting massive profits, which Chris Mclean had to appreciate holed up in his factory. It seemed like everyone in the city was buying Mclean bars by the dozen; Many of Cameron's classmates were caught eating Mclean bars in class, which was now punished by detention, although Cameron saw teachers sneaking candy bars in between classes. The only one who never had a candy bar, it seems, was Cameron. He had to spend almost every waking moment of his life surrounded by kids blissfully enjoying the chocolate that he dreamed of eating. He had to endure Scott every day after school, who now had the advantage of taunting Cameron with chocolate bars. It seemed like dinner was a little bit lighter every night. But despite this, Cameron looked forward to one day: his birthday. On that day, his family pooled together their resources and bought Cameron a Mclean chocolate bar. And fortunately for Cameron, his birthday was in two days. All he had to do was pray that two things occurred: That all three remaining Golden Tickets were not found before then, and that he received that lucky bar of chocolate with a ticket inside it that guaranteed happiness for him.

Once Cameron returned home after school and sniffing at the chocolate factory, he could immediately tell that something was up as soon as he walked in the door. At least two of his grandparents had been crying, and his father was sitting silently on a chair, head in his hands. Cameron looked at his father and asked, "Everything ok, Dad?"

"I wish, Cameron. The toothpaste factory laid me off today. The company's going under and they decided they just don't need me anymore. Sorry, everyone. I failed you."

Cameron stood in shocked silence for a minute, and then went over and hugged his father. "It's okay, Dad, we're gonna get through this. As you always say, we're Wilkins'. We don't know the definition of giving up. Plus, there's always the chance that I could win that Golden Ticket! Then we wouldn't have to worry about money for a while."

"That would be great, Cameron, but we have to look at things realistically. Two tickets have already been found, and it's only a matter of time before the other three are found. I believe I have just enough saved up for your birthday candy bar, but beyond that I'm not sure we can afford another one."

"That's okay. I only need one; I have a good feeling about it." Cameron replied. "Besides, Dad, if Mom were here, she wouldn't want you to give up. She would've wanted you to keep moving forward. Everyone here loves you, and we know you're gonna pull through eventually."

Mr. Wilkins slowly grinned. It was small, but the message was sent plain and simple: This was not the end of the Wilkins family.

The next day was uneventful, save for the usual hopeful yearning for a Mclean chocolate bar. That is, the day was uneventful until Cameron saw some people standing around a TV set in a shop window on his way home from school. As he elbowed his way forward in the group, his heart sank when he saw a news flash with the words "Third Golden Ticket Found". As much as it pained him to watch, he could not tear himself away from Topher Jones' voice as it once again permeated his ears.

"Good afternoon, everyone, this is Topher Jones with Channel 5 Action News, where a _third _Golden Ticket has been located! We were able to catch up with her and ask her a couple questions about how she was able to locate the lucky chocolate bar."

The camera was focused on a living room, which was absolutely covered with trophies, awards, medals, and achievements of all kinds. Athletic, scholarly, world records, you name it. A mocha-skinned girl sat on the couch with a grin on her face, her mouth chewing something continuously. A woman, presumably the girl's mother, stood behind her daughter, beaming as if she were in a beauty competition of some sort.

"We're joined at this time by Courtney Lopez, the lucky girl who found the third Golden Ticket. What do you have to say about how you found the ticket, Courtney?"

"Honestly, I'm not surprised that I won. Not gonna lie, chocolate really isn't my thing. Never really liked it all that much. I usually stick to chewing gum. I already hold the world record for longest time chewing one piece of gum, which I've been doing for...almost 4 months at this point. But when I heard about that contest Mclean was running, I just knew that I had to win that. Now I can add that to my collection of accomplishments; My trophy case is getting pretty full, so I'll have to find some space somewhere in there.

"Courtney's always been winning things, ever since she was a baby. Why, I remember her being the first kid in her preschool to learn how to play Beethoven on violin. So it made sense that she would win this, too. She's always been fiercely competitive from a young age. I suppose she takes after me in that way."

"Whatever, mom. As I was saying, I was able to find the ticket because I grabbed the last candy bar on the shelf yesterday. Let me just say that being captain of the Field Hockey team at school helps out when you need to clear some space."

Topher nodded and took a slow step back. "Wow, Courtney, you've certainly accomplished a lot in your life so far!"

"Yep, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon. I'm going to continue chewing this gum for another year so that no one can come close to beating my record. Of course I don't mean any ill will towards anyone specifically, but winning this ticket just proves that I can do anything. Thanks for interviewing me...whoever you are, but if you'll excuse me, I have a tour to go on and things to beat people at!"

"Well, you heard her, folks, Courtney Lopez is certainly gearing up for the factory tour. That's all from me, Topher Jones" he said while glaring at Courtney while putting special emphasis on his name. Courtney just rolled her eyes and smiled smugly at him.

Cameron walked away dejectedly. Three Golden Tickets found already? At this rate, he was never going to find a ticket. He decided to go for a walk, and eventually he found himself at Mclean's chocolate shop downtown. He stepped inside and instantly forgot all the stress that was weighing on him: this place was a wonderland. Aisles upon aisles filled with candy of all shapes, sizes, and flavors. Little samples of chocolate that were free to taste. This was heaven, Cameron concluded. As Cameron paced the aisles of candy, he heard a voice saying, "Hey, kid"

Cameron turned around to see the man he met at the gates of the factory that one day. Cameron remembered that his name was Hatchet. "Mr. Hatchet, how are you doing today?"

"Heh, I'm stressed as all hell, kid. Everyone and their mother are buying chocolate bars because of that stupid contest. Speaking of which, are you gonna buy something?"

"Not today, sir. I'm just browsing."

"Alright, fine by me. Help yourself to an extra sample if you like. By the way, what's your name, kid?"

"Cameron, sir. Cameron Wilkins. And thank you, Mr. Hatchet!"

"No problem, kid." And with that, Hatchet disappeared around the corner. Cameron had a grin plastered firmly on his face. If this was just what the store was like, imagine possibly seeing the inside of the factory!

The rest of the night was normal for Cameron, although he went to bed a little bit hungrier, as the cabbage soup had been quite thin that night. As he drifted off to slumber, the events of the day spun around in his head. The dizzying low when he saw the news report about Courtney Lopez winning the third ticket, followed by the euphoric high as Cameron walked the aisles of the Mclean chocolate store. He was optimistic, even though his father still hadn't found a job and the weather was getting colder. Yet Cameron still went to sleep with a smile.

The next day, right in the middle of math class, right as Cameron was about to fall asleep, he heard a joyful shout. To his right, one of his classmates was holding up a golden rectangle about the size of a candy bar. Everyone in the class' mood sank. Four tickets gone, only one to go. The kid who had found it was someone who Cameron barely knew; They shared a couple classes, but the kid was always on his phone or his computer, earbuds plugged in. Commotion set around the room as the situation finally dawned on people. Even Cameron's teacher had a sad look on their face, but that was all interrupted by the door bursting open and the lady from the news running in, followed by cameras and microphones aplenty.

"Once again, everyone, this is Sierra Jefferson with Channel 5 Action News, where through totally legal means, we have located the fourth Golden Ticket winner right here in the middle of class at the local high school! So tell us, son, what's your name?"

The boy was a bit bewildered by the sudden media attention; He never talked much, and now the spotlight was in his face. He hesitated for a second, then leaned into the microphone and said "Cody Jameson-Anderson".

"Ooh, two last names, that is so cool! So tell us, Cody, how did you find that ticket of yours?"

"Well, not to get into specifics, but I kinda did some...researching into the Mclean databases and pinpointed which chocolate bar held the ticket. I only needed to buy one bar, and luckily it was the right one. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my computer. I'm right in the middle of something."

"But don't you have anything else to say, you awesome kid?", Sierra pestered.

"Nope, if I don't finish this thing within the next five minutes I'm not gonna have time to finish my video game when I get back home. Leave me alone."

Sierra stood there awkwardly for a minute, looking almost hurt. She eventually recovered and said, "Ok, Cody, one final question: You seem to be into that computer of yours. What else do you do for fun?"

Cody rolled his eyes and said, "Nothing else, really. You can do anything online, so that's usually where I stay. When I'm not on my computer or one of my 8 video game consoles, I'm on my phone. Real life is boring, so why would I want to live there when I can connect with everything from technology?"

"Very wise words, Cody. I love that. Well, anyway, this is Sierra Jefferson, signing off. Only one Golden Ticket remains! Who will find it? _Will_ anyone find it? Who knows?"

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Cameron. He was starting to lose hope. Plus, why did every one of the kids who found a Golden Ticket have to be such...horrible people? Owen was greedy, Heather was spoiled, Courtney was arrogant, and Cody was rude and antisocial. However, there was a silver lining: tomorrow was Cameron's birthday, and that meant his one chance at winning the prize that he had longed for ever since it was announced.

**So what do you guys think? Did I do a good job introducing the other two Golden Ticket winners? I know that the story is a little predictable, but I hope I've done a decent job of putting my own spin on it. LMK what you think! Daseej665**


	5. Chapter 4: Cameron's Birthday

The day arrived just like any other. Another cold, snowy day. For someone with central heating or a big fireplace, this may have been a beautiful day. For Cameron, it was the opposite. Aside from the small fireplace and the stove, heat was hard to come by in the Wilkins household during the winter. Thus, Cameron was not feeling all that well on his birthday; It was cold, wet, and generally miserable. At school, there was still considerable buzz around Cody Jameson-Anderson, who seemed more focused on his computer or his phone than on anything else. However, even though he was feeling down about his slim chances of finding a golden ticket, Cameron was excited nonetheless. On his way home, he couldn't help but sniff at the gates of the Mclean factory again. As he entered his home, his family all had matching birthday hats on.

"Surprise! Happy birthday, Cameron!", they all shouted. A hasty cake had been thrown together, which appeared to be little more than vanilla frosting over shortbread, with a candle stuck on top. Cameron was thrilled. This was the most exciting day of the year for him, and his family had gone all out for him. The six Wilkinses watched TV, laughed and enjoyed each other's company. After a while, one of the grandparents gestured to Mr. Wilkins, who revealed a present wrapped in newspaper. It looked suspiciously like a candy bar.

"Happy birthday, son. I hope you like it" Mr. Wilkins said as he handed the present over to Cameron.

Cameron tore apart the newspaper to reveal a Mclean brand candy bar, specifically the Peanut Chocolate Blitz variety. His face lit up with a grin that could light up the whole town. "This is fantastic. Thank you, everyone!"

"Well, this could be the lucky bar! Have a look!" said Grandpa George.

Cameron remembered that there was still one Golden Ticket left, and his heart started pounding. He felt all five pairs of eyes on him, shivering with anticipation.

"Come on, Cameron, open it! I don't think my heart can take much more of this suspense!", said Grandma Josephine.

Slowly, Cameron began to open the candy bar. He was debating whether to open it slowly or if he should just yank it all out; He eventually decided on the latter. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Cameron tore apart the wrapper. The silence in the room was palpable: you could hear a pin drop. Cameron slowly opened his eyes and saw….

Nothing. Just an ordinary candy bar. Granted, a delicious candy bar, but no Golden Ticket to be found. All the energy in the room, all the positivity that everyone had was sucked out in that moment. Cameron sighed.

"Well, that's that, I guess. It was worth a shot. So who wants some chocolate?" Cameron asked.

"What? Cameron, that's your birthday present. That's yours, and none of us would take it away from you!" Mr. Wilkins said.

"Actually, Cameron, I'll take a small a little bit later. Enjoy your bar, and save, oh I don't know, maybe a small square for me", said Grandpa Joe. Everyone else glared at him. "What, he offered it, I may as well take him up on it!"

Cameron sadly smiled and went off to his room, where he lay in his bed, dejected. In between bites of gooey peanut and sweet chocolate, he lay there heartbroken. Why didn't he win a Golden Ticket? Maybe he wasn't good enough. Maybe he wasn't worthy of a Golden Ticket or a spot in the tour, even though he doubted that the other winners were worthy themselves. Maybe that's just the way things were for Cameron. He lay in his bed for what seemed like hours before he remembered Grandpa Joe's words. He still had a small square of chocolate left, so Cameron went to the living room and found everyone sleeping, save for Grandpa Joe, who was wide awake.

"Cameron, my boy! I thought you forgot about me!", Grandpa Joe said as Cameron handed him the chocolate. "Well, I must be honest with you," he said as he ate the bar "I kind of had an ulterior motive for having you bring me the chocolate. Take a look at this!" And with that, Grandpa Joe reached under the bed and pulled out a dirty sock.

"Really, Grandpa? That's what you wanted to show me? A sock?", Cameron asked.

"No, no, inside the sock!" Grandpa Joe reached into the sock and pulled out some coins. "I've been saving these up for a while now. Pension just ain't what it used to be. I was planning to use these to buy a coffin, but I think you need these more than I do. When I die, just toss my body in the dumpster."

"Grandpa, I can't take your money! It's yours!"

"Ah, but you must. Go out tomorrow and buy yourself another chocolate bar with this money. You deserve another chance, and what's more, you deserve that last ticket, dammit!"

Cameron hesitated before nodding slowly and taking the coins from Grandpa Joe's hand. He felt bad taking his grandfather's hard-earned money, but it seemed like Grandpa Joe wanted to spend it this way now. Cameron went to bed with, for what seemed like the first time in months, hope.

He woke up the next morning, which was a Saturday, feeling tired but excited. He walked down the hall to the living room, where his father had already left. Cameron knew that Mr. Wilkins had a job interview that day. The grandparents were asleep as usual. With a smile and a glance at Grandpa Joe, Cameron exited the house and headed towards the Mclean candy shop. When he reached the front doors, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

"Hey, spazz! I'm surprised you have enough money to sniff around here!" Scott stood walked over to the door and leaned against the wall. He was smirking deviously as Cameron cowered. "Heard about your dad, you little dork. When does the first unemployment check come in?" he asked with a cackle.

"Oh, hey, Scott. I appreciate your concern" Cameron said with a similarly devious, albeit nervous, grin. "But my family is doing just fine, I assure you."

" Well, don't let me stop you from buying a bar. Can't wait to see the face after you don't get a Golden Ticket and I do. Matter of fact, I may just take a picture of it!"

And with that, the two boys entered the candy shop. Cameron saw Hatchet standing behind the counter, who gave him a brief nod. As Cameron walked the aisles, he could hear Scott chuckling to himself a couple aisles over; Cameron tried to shrug that off. Eventually, Cameron settled on a Marshmallow Nougat Splash bar and headed up to the register. He smiled at Hatchet, who returned the gesture.

"Finally deciding to hop on the contest train, huh kid? Can't say I blame you, but you started awfully late, hehe. That'll be one dollar", the large man said; He looked almost comical in the red and white striped uniform he had to wear. Cameron handed his money over to Hatchet. As Cameron walked away, he noticed that he still had about 95 cents left over; Grandpa Joe must have saved up only $1.95. But that didn't matter: what mattered was the chocolate bar he just bought.

Cameron started to get that feeling in the pit of his stomach. He closed his eyes and slowly peeled away the wrapper. He opened them to see…

Nothing, yet again. Cameron was devastated; this was probably the only other chance he would get to buy a bar, and nothing had come of it. He started eating his chocolate bar as Scott came over to him, eating his own chocolate bar.

"Haha, nice try, dork, but that's all she wrote. I didn't win either, but you know the good part about that? I actually have money to buy more if I wanted to!" Scott dug in his pocket and flipped a nickel over to Cameron. "Enjoy your pity nickel, loser!"

Cameron got excited. Although it had been demeaning, Scott had just given him the nickel he needed to buy another candy bar. With a grin slowly starting to work its way onto his face, Cameron walked towards a shelf, picked up another Marshmallow Nougat Splash, and went to the register.

"One more, please, Hatchet. I've got just enough, thanks to a donation made by a charitable party." Cameron said as he looked back at a confused Scott.

"Alright, kid, good luck." Hatchet said indifferently. Cameron took a step back from the register and took a deep breath. This was it, he thought to himself. My true last chance. Nervously, he peeled the wrapper off.

A glint of gold flashed in Cameron's face. Excited, he ripped off the rest of the wrapper to find a rectangular ticket, roughly the size of the candy bar. It was colored shiny gold.

Cameron was speechless, as were Hatchet, Scott, and the other shoppers in the store. Hatchet was the close his jaw and speak.

"Y..you did it, Cameron. You found the last Golden Ticket!" he cried, shocked yet joyous.

Cameron stood in utter shock, a smile the size of Brazil plastered on his face. He didn't even want the chocolate anymore; He had just won. He got to tour the factory. He got an unlimited supply of candy. It was him, and this was his moment.

"Wait a second, I gave him that money! I deserve that ticket!" Scott whined, breaking Cameron out of his trance.

"Well I don't recall you paying for that chocolate bar, I don't recall seeing you open it, and I sure as hell don't recall you finding that Golden Ticket! Now get out before I have to make you get out!" Hatchet threatened. Scott's expression went from one of shock, to one of disbelief, and finally to one of rage.

"This isn't over, spazz! Just you wait!" he said as he ran out the front doors. Cameron thought he saw a single tear roll down Scott's cheek, but he couldn't be certain. He looked around the room at all the people whose eyes were now on him.

"Get out of here, kid! Go back to your family and tell them the good news!" Hatchet yelled. Cameron did not have to be told twice. He bolted out of the front doors and let out a joyous yelp that was heard for many blocks over. Cameron's day had finally come.

**Well, what did you think? Sorry for the delay on this one, I was just overloaded with schoolwork and didn't have time to write, but I hope you liked the chapter, and I have enjoyed reading your reviews. Thank you for following along! **


	6. Chapter 5: The Celebration

The dash back to the Wilkins household felt like a split second to Cameron. Finally he would be coming home with some good news; The family definitely needed some today. As he burst in the front door, he woke three of the four grandparents, who were previously sound asleep in their bed.

"What the-it's a ghost!", said Grandpa George.

"No, it's just Cameron!", said Grandma Josephine.

"But what's he got in his hand?", said Grandma Georgina.

"I did it! I won! I found the last Golden Ticket! Have a look for yourselves!", said Cameron as he raced over to the bedside of the four grandparents. Grandpa Joe sat there in stunned silence, mouth wide open and eyes bugging out of his head. After what seemed like an eternity, he gathered his bearings and looked at the golden rectangle that Cameron held in his hand.

"C...Cameron...did you really...I mean, is this….are you just pulling my leg?" Grandpa Joe asked. Cameron beamed and handed the ticket over to his grandpa, who took it and sat there dumbfounded for almost 30 seconds. "Cameron, this...this is the greatest news I've ever seen in my life! Congratulations, boy, you did it!"

And with that, Grandpa Joe pulled Cameron into a hug with more force than Cameron had felt from the old man in his life. This was a man who struggled to lift the spoon during dinner sometimes! At some point during the hug, the door opened and Mr. Wilkins entered the house.

"Hey, what's going on over here? Have a good morning, Cameron?", he asked his son.

"You're never gonna believe it, Dad! I did it! I found the last Golden Ticket! I get to tour Mclean's factory!", Cameron yelled as he raced over to his dad. He pointed over to Grandpa Joe, who had the ticket in a vicegrip.

Mr. Wilkins stood with an expression on his face that was quite similar to the four grandparents. "Well, that's amazing! I'm so happy for you! Wait, where did you get the money to buy another candy bar? Did you steal that candy bar?"

Cameron looked back at Grandpa Joe, who had a knowing grin on his face. Mr. Wilkins took one look at Cameron and Grandpa Joe, and he knew the truth. "Well, this calls for celebration! Congratulations, Cameron. What does that Golden Ticket say, anyway?", Mr. Wilkins asked.

"I don't know, I was too excited to read it. Let me see" Cameron said as he took the ticket from Grandpa Joe. In shiny black font, the ticket read as such:

_Congratulations! You are a winner! In your hand, you hold your ticket to an all-expenses paid trip to Mclean's chocolate factory. This is your ticket to get into the factory, so please have it on you when the date of the tour arrives; I would hate to have to turn you away at the gates because you don't have your ticket (It's very bad PR). Every winner must be accompanied by an adult. This ticket may be redeemed only for the tour on DECEMBER 7 of this year at 10:00 AM, not a day earlier and not a day later. By giving this ticket to Mr. Mclean on December 7, you agree to a lifetime supply of Mclean brand candy, as well as a tour. Further details and rules will be provided to you on the day of the tour. Congratulations once more for winning this opportunity of a lifetime! I cannot wait to meet you!_

_Signed,_

_Chris Mclean._

"Wait, December 7? That's tomorrow!", Mr. Wilkins said. He was right, Cameron remembered. He had found the ticket on the last possible day. "I don't know, son. I have another interview tomorrow at 9:30...I don't think I'll be able to go with you to the factory. Matter of fact, I don't know of anyone who would be able to take you…"

Cameron and the grandparents all looked at each other with uncertainty and sadness. He was right again, Cameron realized. His grandparents were far too weak to walk, and his father had to go and provide for the family. He didn't have anyone to go with. That is, until he heard a voice speak up.

"I'll take Cameron to the chocolate factory!" Grandpa Joe piped up from his bed. Everyone else in the room stared at him quizzically. "That's right, I said it. I am taking that boy to the factory because he earned his opportunity! I'll be damned if he has to stay home because I was too weak to take him!" With that, Grandpa Joe began to squirm around in his bed, attempting to somehow make it to his feet.

"Joe, you're 93! It's been over twenty years since you last walked!" said Grandma Josephine.

"Calm down, Joe. I can see if my interviewer can reschedule or something" Mr. Wilkins said.

"Nonsense! I'm fit as a fiddle! I feel like I could run a mile if I wanted to!" Grandpa Joe continued to struggle, eventually sliding his thin legs over the edge of the bed. Tentatively, he put his feet on the ground and applied a tiny bit of pressure. He immediately fell down with a thud. Everyone gasped and Cameron went to help him up. Once Grandpa Joe had regained his balance, he was able to stand on his feet for a little bit until Cameron let go of him. After getting up once again, he was able to take some steps, albeit small ones.

"He's gonna hurt himself!" yelled Grandpa George.

"He'll fall over at any minute" replied Grandma Georgina.

"He looks fine to me!" said Cameron.

And indeed he was. Grandpa Joe had regained his ability to walk and was now doing so around the living room. Everyone looked on with a combination of excitement and horror as he did a little jig, but somehow he stayed on his feet. Everyone applauded.

"Are you sure you can go to the factory? You did just learn how to walk again, after all" Mr. Wilkins asked.

"Absolutely! Why, I could march over to that old factory right now if I wanted to!" Grandpa Joe said.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Everyone was puzzled: they seldom received visitors to their house. Cameron slowly opened up the door and was startled to find a full news crew right outside his door, with Topher Jones at the head of the pack, holding a microphone.

"Hello, world, this is Topher Jones with Channel 5 Action News, and we are just now finding out that the fifth and final Golden Ticket has been found in this...cozy little house on the outskirts of the city. Tell us son, what's your name?"

Cameron was shocked. He had never been on TV before; The closest he came was when Cody was on TV just the other day. Shyly, he sputtered out "Cameron...Cameron Wilkins."

"Well, Cameron, congratulations! You're the last Golden Ticket winner, and that means that you will be going on a tour of the Mclean chocolate factory! How does that make you feel?"

"Ummm…..really good, I guess. This is all just a little overwhelming. But yeah, it feels really good to have won. This is the first thing in my life I've ever won, so it's a little extra special for me. We don't really have a lot, so it's nice to finally be able to be a part of something this special."

"Wow, an underdog story! Everyone loves one of those. So Cameron, what is one question that you want to ask Chris Mclean when you first meet him tomorrow?"

At this point, Topher and several members of his crew had found their way into the living room with a smoothness that made everyone think they'd done it before.

"I don't know. I guess I would just like to know how he does it" replied Cameron.

"Does what?"

"Comes up with all those amazing flavors of chocolate year in and year out, without becoming boring."

"Fascinating stuff, Cameron, but what we really want to know is this: how did you find your Golden Ticket? Did it just fall out of the sky or something?" Topher asked with a patronizing tone of voice. Cameron was slightly offended by this, but chose not to address it.

"Well, actually, it's an interesting story. You see, I was-"

Grandpa Joe stepped in between Cameron and Topher. "Ok, that's quite enough. Don't ya think he's answered enough questions? Now go on and get out of here, you've had your interview! Go on, get!" he said as he shooed everyone out the door. Topher put up a little bit of resistance, but Grandpa Joe had intimidated him enough so that he exited.

"Try to rest up, Cameron. We've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, so I don't want ya tiring yourself out today."

And so the rest of the day went by without anything very interesting happening. As Cameron lay in bed that night, he could hardly sleep. The same could be said for the four other winners of the tickets, who were similarly excited. At last the blessed day arrived, and Cameron rolled out of bed with enough energy to power a small city. Grandpa Joe was similarly excited, but couldn't muster up the same kind of energy that Cameron had. However, they left the house around 9:15 and arrived at the factory around 9:30. Yes, they were early, but all the other winners were there as well. Cameron eyed them nervously. Owen Moore had a link of sausages around his neck, which he was devouring rapidly, as his mother stood next to him. He barely stopped to breathe as he wolfed down the meat. Heather Watson was yelling something at her father, who was taking it like a champ. Cameron could only make out bits and pieces of her speech, which seemed to revolve around how her bedroom was too small and how her father should build another, bigger one. Cameron was amazed at how long she could yell without tiring. Courtney Lopez also seemed to be listening to Heather's tantrum, but she seemed to be more annoyed than Cameron was by it. She was still chewing that same piece of gum that she had been chewing in the interview, and she let everyone know. She blew bubbles with it and had a smug grin on her face the whole time. Cody Jameson-Anderson was standing apart from everybody else, tapping away at his phone with his earbuds in. A man who Cameron assumed to be his father was standing near him trying to get Cody's attention, but Cody was too engrossed in his phone to pay much attention. Even when he noticed someone trying to talk to him, he rolled his eyes and turned back to it. Four bad kids, Cameron thought. Hopefully everyone else didn't think he was like the rest of them. Grandpa Joe stood next to Cameron, shaking his head at the antics of the other winners.

Nothing happened for a while, but a crowd had gathered around the five winners and their families. Hundreds of people stood with their cameras out: some were taking pictures of the five winners, but most were waiting for the moment when the legendary Chris Mclean would open the doors to his factory for the first time in decades. Both Topher Jones and Sierra Jefferson of Channel 5 Action News were present, but they looked quite upset, as they couldn't cut through the crowd to get to the front. Cameron recognized many kids from his school in the crowd, and they smiled at him and congratulated him when they saw him.

Everyone was shivering with anticipation, as well as shivering because of the cold: the snow had not melted since the day before. At long last, after what seemed like hours, someone shouted "Wait, I think the door's opening! Could it be?" Indeed it was. The door to the factory slowly creaked open; It was a big door, thus it took a bit more time to open. Everyone leaned in to get a glimpse inside of the factory before the sound of a cane hit the floor inside. A couple seconds passed before the figure of a man appeared at the doorway, and the door swung open to reveal Chris Mclean.

**Hey everyone, sorry for the delay again! I promise that I am going to finish this story, classes have just been really busy lately. Thank you all for your continued support, and don't forget to leave a review if that's something you wanna do!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Tour Begins!

The man standing before everyone looked odd, to say the least. Chris Mclean was not a tall man, but he wore a purple top hat made of velvet that made him seem just a little bit taller than he actually was. The initials "CM" were embroidered on his hat in gold. The rest of his outfit had a similar purple and gold theme: he was wearing a white shirt with a purple tie, followed by a gold vest that shimmered in the morning sun, and to top it off he wore an elaborate purple coat that seemed both extravagant and fashionable. Well, fashionable for his standards, at least. His pants were similarly purple with gold lining on the sides, and his shoes were an unremarkable shiny black. He carried with him a cane with red and white stripes, designed to look like a candy cane. When he looked out at the crowd, his dark, beady eyes scanned the crowd for the five winners, who were conveniently in a line in front of the gates. His mouth, surrounded by a perpetual five o'clock shadow, curled into a smile, though no one could tell if it was genuine or not.

"Hey everyone, nice to see you all and WELCOME TO...THE CHRIS ...MCLEAN...FACTORY TOUR!"

Everyone was stunned. He practiced this beforehand, Cameron thought in awestruck wonder. He looked over, and the four other winners were similarly awed by the introduction.

"First off, I would like to thank everyone for participating in my contest and for buying my chocolate, you have re-energized me and my career, I couldn't do this without everyone here, blah blah blah, et cetera, et cetera, and all that jazz." Chris looked at the news crews that had been inching forward as much as they could. "Now that all the PR mumbo-jumbo is done, the interesting part can begin. Winners, step forward to cash in your tickets."

The five kids and their parents, who lagged slightly behind, went up to Chris Mclean and held out their tickets. Mclean did a quick scan of the kids, before starting at one end, where Heather stood.

"Ok...Heather Watson, found the second Golden Ticket, though you didn't really _find _it, did you? That's ok, I don't judge too much."

"Hey, what are you suggesting? That I didn't win this ticket fair and square? Daddy, tell him that I deserve to be here just as much as everyone else, if not more! DO IT NOW!"

"Well, sweetheart, I'm sorry that Mr. Mclean was so mean to you. After the tour, I'll buy you something real nice to make up for that" Mr. Watson told her, which made her smile widely, before turning his attention to Chris. "Hello, Mr. Mclean, I'm Sir Nicholas Watson, owner of Watson's Peanuts. Heather won her place here, just like these other kids did, and I would advise you to not chastise her for it."

"Alrighty, Nick my dude, you're at a 10, I'm gonna need you to take it down to a 5. Relax, I'm not gonna disqualify her or anything, heh heh. Just asking questions."

"Well, you better watch it, Mclean, or else!" Heather yelled at him.

Chris raised an eyebrow and walked away to the next child. From the end of the line, Cameron and Grandpa Joe stood baffled. "Looks like her father's not the only one who's nuts" Grandpa Joe said.

"Okay, next up on the list, Cody Jameson-Anderson! How you doing today, my man?" Mclean said, stopping in front of the brown-haired boy, who didn't even look up at Chris, instead focusing on his phone with his earbuds in.

"Um...hello? Anybody there?" No response. "Ok, bud, if you don't have your ticket, I'm afraid I'll have to-"

Without looking up from his phone, Cody's hand shot up with the ticket in it. "Here you go, this should be everything you need."

"You'll have to excuse him, Mr. Mclean. He likes his technology quite a bit, and it's hard to get him off sometimes" Cody's father said. "So we've decided to just let him use it as much as he wants. What's the harm? Besides, it keeps him from getting into trouble in the real world."

"Well, I hope he'll join us during the tour, because he's not going to want to miss some of the stuff we have planned."

As Chris took the ticket from Cody, he waved his hand in front of the boy's face, to no reaction. Chris chuckled nervously as he moved on down the line.

"Hi, Chris, I'm Courtney Lopez. I hope you notice that I held my ticket out first. I also thought I should mention that I was the first one here today, if that matters...which it should. I hope you're doing well today, Chris!" the girl said with a smile that didn't seem entirely real.

"Ummmm...hi, Courtney. Normally I like people with this much energy, but it's too early in the morning for this." Chris said as he took the ticket from her hand. "So I'll make you a little deal: don't do….that, and we should be cool for the rest of the tour. Good? Good."

"But...but I-" Courtney protested.

"Hold that thought, I gotta talk to the next winner. See you inside!" Chris said as he motored over to Owen, who was finishing off the last of his mid-morning snack.

"Ok, big guy, I really appreciate you buying and eating so much of my chocolate! Really helped sales." Chris said.

"Hey, Daddy bought more bars than he did; I should be congratulated!" Heather shouted from the end of the line.

"But did you eat all those bars? Nope, didn't think so. Owen here did, and he didn't waste a single bar. So shush!" Chris replied with an annoyed look before turning his attention back to Owen. "So sorry about that. Ticket, please"

"Oh, sure, here you go, dude! Wow, this building is huge. I can't wait to go inside. Hold on a second." In one hand, he gave Chris the ticket, and in the other he reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple sausages, which he began to devour.

"Oh, geez, sorry dude, but I'm afraid there's no outside food allowed on the-wait, did you finish those things already?" Indeed he had. Chris stood baffled for a second before collecting himself. "Wow, that's impressive and pretty freaky, not gonna lie." The only response he got from Owen was a burp.

Chris took one more look at Owen and moved on to Cameron and Grandpa Joe. "Ok, last but hopefully not least, Cameron Wilkins! How are you doing today, Cam?"

"I'm doing pretty good, thanks! How are you?" Cameron responded cheerfully, with just a little bit of awe seeping into his voice.

"Oh, you know, living the dream. So you're the one who found his ticket just yesterday. Congratulations, but try not to leave it so late next time."

"Um...sorry about that. You see, I'm only given one Mclean bar a year, and-" Cameron said before he was interrupted.

"Yeah, I heard that. Well, it's a good thing you found the ticket when you did, or else we would have had to start the tour with only four kids, and that's a pretty bad look for the company. Who's this guy accompanying you?"

"My name is Joe Wilkins, sir. I've always been a fan." Grandpa Joe responded.

"Nice, nice. Good to hear" Chris said, taking Cameron's ticket and walking back up to the steps where he could see everyone. "Alright, now that I've collected all the tickets, it's time for everyone else to go away, and time for the winners and their guardians to follow me."

The five winners and their guardians stepped forwards until they and Chris were at the top step. Everyone else was slowly making their exit from the factory, and in a few minutes, the area was relatively quiet.

"Ok, now that that's done, we get to do the fun stuff! Everyone prepare to be thrilled, wowed, and amazed by the Mclean chocolate factory!" And with that, Chris opened the doors to the factory to reveal…

A hallway. A normal, drab hallway with dark wallpaper and a table in the middle. The energy was sucked out of the room as everyone filed in. "Ok, sorry to let you all down...ah, who am I kidding? The looks on your faces were priceless! This is the main hallway. It serves no real purpose beyond welcoming people into the factory, but if you'll direct your attention to the center table, you'll see there is a pen there."

"Yeah, I see it, but what's the big idea?" Cody asked, finally moving his eyes from his phone.

"Good question, Cody. Nice of you to join us. You will be using the official Mclean fountain pen to sign the official Mclean factory tour contract!" Chris proceeded to pull out a long scroll of paper that he lay across the table. It was a large table, but the contract used every square inch of its surface; It was a massive contract.

"So, who wants to sign first? There is no reward for signing first, and it doesn't even grant you bragging rights, but hey, I just thought I'd offer" Chris explained. Before he had finished talking, both Courtney and Heather's hands had shot up in the air. The two girls took notice and glared at each other. They both ran towards the contract, and Courtney ultimately grabbed the pen before Heather could.

"Great! Let it be known that I was the first to sign the contract...I should write that down in my list of accomplishments. I wonder if that's a world record" she said smugly as she wrote down her name neatly.

"Fine. Being second is better anyway. First place is for suck-ups anyway" Heather retorted as she daintily wrote her name down on the contract. As she walked back to her dad, she said "Daddy, I'm going to need another increase in my allowance. I'm emotionally injured" to which her father agreed to.

"Ok, clock's ticking here, guys. Who's next?" Chris asked. Cody shrugged and walked up to the contract, phone in his hands once again.

"Whoa, hold on there, Codemeister. Section 4, article XII of the contract explicitly prohibits electronics of any kind in the tour. So that means you're gonna have to leave your cell phone here, dude" Chris told the boy, who stared at him incredulously. "Dude, if you don't ditch the phone, I am legally allowed to chuck it at the wall."

"What the hell, man? I'm not gonna put my phone away just because you want me too or someth-WHAT THE HELL?!" Cody screamed as Chris took the phone out of his hands and threw it against the wall, where it shattered into many pieces.

"Relax, with a lifetime supply of candy, you can use the money you'd normally spend on candy to buy a new phone. Besides, I kinda wanted to do that. Now, if you wouldn't mind, the contract."

Cody grumbled as he walked up to the table, grabbed the pen, and half-heartedly scribbled his name. As he slunk back to the rest of the group, Owen walked up to the table. "Uh, Chris, what does this word say? The print is kinda small."

Chris walked over and inspected where Owen was pointing. "Owen, my man, that says chocolate."

"Oh, right. Yeah, now I see. The light must have been in my eyes or something, ha ha" the portly boy laughed nervously. "Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and sign." Owen printed his name in a style akin to a young child, and he made his way back to the lineup.

"Cameron, it's your turn to sign! Go on up!" said Grandpa Joe. Cameron nodded and walked up to the table, where he perused the document for a second before signing his name next to all the other signatures.

"Ok, Cameron, short and sweet. I like it. Anyway, now that that's all settled, I believe it is time to commence with the tour. Right this way to the first room!" Chris said.

"Wait, what exactly does that contract say, Mclean?" Courtney's mother asked from the crowd.

"Oh, don't worry about it. As long as everyone does what they're told and doesn't act like a total moron, everything should be fine. That answer your question? Of course it does. Well, we're here!" Chris replied before stopping in front of a giant pair of mahogany doors. "Now, I must prepare you all for what you are about to see. This first room is probably the most wondrous of all the rooms that you will see. It is the result of years of imagination, creativity, and isolation from society. I don't often say this, but I am genuinely excited for you to see it. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I present to you...the Chocolate Room!"

**What did you think? Is there anything that I did well/could improve on for next time? I look forward to hearing your opinions.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Chocolate Room

Chris Mclean opened the door, and immediately, Cameron, along with everybody else, gasped. The door opened to reveal a room of massive proportion, bigger than 100 of Cameron's houses stacked next to each other. However, it wasn't just the size of the room that made everybody stop dead in their tracks: the room was split by a raging river of what looked like pure, rich, creamy chocolate. The ground was covered in green grass that smelled of spearmint when the artificial breeze blew. There was a pathway made of what appeared to be some sort of butterscotch, and marshmallow clouds fluttered above. The room truly was a wonder to behold, and it was no surprise that everyone was stunned silent.

"Is...is this really real? Like, I can't believe what I'm seeing right now, man! Pinch me, I must be dreaming!", Owen said, tearing up just a little bit. He was saying what everyone else was thinking, save for Chris.

"Yes, sir, Owen my man! This may be the room I'm proudest of, which is why I wanted to show it off first! The Chocolate Room is very unique in that everything, and I mean everything, in this room is edible! To demonstrate, everyone grab a blade of grass. I promise it doesn't taste like grass; They have been delicately crafted to taste like a fine mint!", Chris told everyone. With that, everyone plucked a blade of grass from the ground (except for Owen, who grabbed a whole handful) and started eating it. Positive murmurs ran through the crowd.

"So everything in this room is edible? Even the door we came in?", one of the parents asked.

"Technically, yes. But it is made of wood, and wood is very difficult to digest, so I wouldn't recommend doing it.", Chris replied with a smirk. "Now if you'll follow me down this yellow brick road, I'd love to give you all a tour of this amazing room!"

As the group started moving forward (kids in the front, adults behind them), everyone started to adapt to the sights, sounds, and smells of the room. The warm smell of delicious chocolate filled their noses, and although they tried their best to focus on the whole room, they were transfixed with this river of chocolate, which flowed just like water. Gooey, delicious water. And then, from the back of the group, Owen's mother screamed.

"WHAT THE-Mclean, I just saw something move!"

"Yeah, that's the river. You see, the difference between a body of liquid like a river and something like a lake is that in a river, the liquid tends to move, and-"

"No, I mean I saw a...thing! It had a body, and a head, and it was moving around over there!"

Chris slapped his forehead. "Shoot, how could I forget? Everyone, say hello to my good friends, the interns!" As he motioned with his hand, suddenly two short little men came running over to join the group.

"These adorable little fellas are my workers. They help me run the factory, make chocolate, and they basically do everything I tell them to do!"

Cody spoke up. "So there have been workers at this place for years and no one's known about it? That's kinda weird"

"You know, I'm glad you asked me that question, because now I get to talk about my favorite subject...me!" Seeing the confused looks on everyone's faces, Chris let out a chuckle. "Only kidding. You see, the interns aren't actually from the city. They're not even from this country! Many years ago, right after I shut down the factory the first time, I needed a break. I had a lot on my mind after the _spies _took everything." Cameron noticed that whenever Chris said the word "spies", he said it with disdain. "So I went to the travel agency and I told them to book me a flight to the most exotic place they had! And a couple days later, I flew out to the magic land of Wawanakwa!"

"Now hold on there, Mr. Mclean!" Cody's father interrupted. "I've taught geography for many years, and I've never heard of or seen any place called Wawanakwa!"

"Well, then you're using the wrong maps. I don't know what to tell ya.", Chris replied. "Anyway, as I was going about my daily life relaxing in my cabin, I noticed these tiny people running around my campsite. Up to this point, I thought that I was completely alone, so this was quite a shock to me! So one day, I set out a peace offering of a chocolate bar, and sure enough, they accepted it. Within no time, I had earned their trust!" The kids looked at Mclean, transfixed by his story. The adults were looking at each other, rolling their eyes at such an outlandish tale.

"After their leader and I had become friends, they explained to me their situation. They were stuck living in dilapidated cabins in an abandoned summer camp, and they lived in constant fear of the vicious creatures that prowled at night. Probably because Wawanakwa used to be a radioactive dump. Anyway, I promised that I could get them out of it. And all they had to do was come back here to work for me!"

"Wait, so do you pay them? Sounds like they kinda got shafted here", Courtney said.

"Oh, I pay them, but not with money. See, since they live here, money means nothing to them since they have nothing to spend it on. Instead, I pay them in chocolate. All the chocolate they want, in exchange for their work."

"Still, kinda sounds like a sketchy system to me…"

"Courtney, I'm setting a timer in my head for five minutes. If you criticize my methods during those five minutes, I am going to be a bit upset." With that, Courtney glared at Chris but kept her mouth shut. "Let's move on, shall we? These interns are perfectly friendly. As a matter of fact, they were super excited about all of you coming here today!"

Cameron smiled at one of them, who waved back enthusiastically. Cameron turned to Grandpa Joe and said, "This is amazing! Honestly, this feels like a dream come true, but not in my wildest dreams did I imagine anything as crazy as this!" Grandpa Joe smiled warmly and replied, "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Cam! I've always imagined what the inside of this place would look like, and it's definitely better than what I imagined."

The tour came to a stop in front of the river, which had a series of pipes sucking up the chocolate. "Mr. Mclean, what are all those pipes for?", Cameron asked.

" Well, this chocolate isn't doing much good only in this room. It definitely looks nice, but I would lose a lot of money if the only thing it did was look nice. So those pipes carry the chocolate all over the factory. For example, that pipe over there"-he pointed to a thick pipe at the back of the room- "delivers chocolate to the coffee room, where we combine it with all kinds of different flavors to create the best coffee-slash-chocolate flavored treats!"

"How about that pipe, that really tiny one right there?" Cameron asked, pointing to a skinny pipe right on the far banks of the river.

"Honestly, I kinda forgot where that one went. A lot of the smaller pipes in the factory lead to some of the less important rooms, and-HEY!"

Chris frantically pointed a finger at the banks of the river, and everyone quickly turned their heads to see what the issue was. The issue was that Owen Moore had (somehow) silently slipped away from the rest of the group down to the chocolate river, and was now kneeling down at the river's side, rapidly shoveling the liquid chocolate into his mouth with his hands.

"Owen, get away from that river! That is pristine milk chocolate and it should not under ANY circumstances be contaminated by human hands! I don't even touch that chocolate!" Chris shouted as he made his way down to where Owen was gorging. The rest of the group followed closely behind.

"Come on, Mr. Mclean, I'm sure he's just a bit hungry! Besides, I don't see the harm! There's so much chocolate in there, what's a couple mouthfuls?" Owen's mother exclaimed.

"Yeah! This is so delicious! It's like everything I've ever wanted. I'll stop after a couple more times!" Owen pleaded his case to Chris, who was practically pulling his hair out next to him and his mother.

" No, Owen, you don't understand! If that chocolate goes out contaminated, and some unlucky chump-I mean customer-eats it and gets sick, it would be horrible! That would lead to bad publicity, which leads to court cases, which leads to"-he visibly shuddered as he said- "legal fees! I cannot allow you to keep dipping your paws in that chocolate!"

The others in the group were visibly horrified by what they were seeing. "That's absolutely disgusting! Quit doing that!", Heather said. And for once, she was right. "It's a lawsuit waiting to happen!", Grandpa Joe shouted. "Cody, stop recording this! I thought I told you not to smuggle another cell phone with you!" Cody's father shouted; Cody quickly hid the phone, thus saving it from being thrown at another wall.

"Last one, I swear!" Owen said. "Wait, I feel a sneeze coming on...ah...Ah...AH...CHOOOOOOOO!" And with that, the portly boy teetered for a second, stopped for a second as if frozen in time, and fell into the chocolate river with a huge splash.

**Hey, everyone, so I'm gonna be honest, I kinda forgot about this story because I've been so busy recently. However, with the quarantine in full effect, I decided to recommit myself to writing this story! I apologize not updating you guys, and also I apologize for the shorter chapter this time around, but rest assured that I will resume working on this. Side note: I am unsure if I want to write songs for the interns to sing, like the Oompa Loompas do in the book. What do you guys think? Should I write one? TUS**


	9. Chapter 8: Owen's Demise!

A wave of panic swept over the crowd as the flying chocolate headed straight for them and their fancy clothes they wore that day. The majority of them were also panicked because Owen had just fallen in the chocolate river, but unfortunately it was not all of them.

"Ah, Daddy, some of the chocolate just hit my shoes! Now they're ruined! I'm gonna need new ones just like these", Heather yelled at her father.

"Of course, darling, but don't you already have another pair just like them at home?", her father replied.

"Yes, but I'm gonna need backups for those, since I'll be wearing those around from now on!"

"Right. How could I forget?" This was said without an ounce of sarcasm. From behind them, Grandpa Joe elbowed Cameron and rolled his eyes. "Isn't that just the silliest phrase you've ever heard, Cam?", he asked the boy.

"Yeah, definitely. Kinda wish I had two pairs of shoes myself, but I'll take what I can get" Cameron replied.

Amongst all the commotion, there were two people who were panicking the most: Chris Mclean and Owen's mother.

"NO! My chocolate! It's contaminated! It's ruined!" Chris looked on the verge of a nervous breakdown as he paced up and down the banks of the river. Cameron even swore he saw Chris bite his hat in angst.

"Mr. Mclean, what about Owen! He can't swim; he'll sink like a stone! You need to do something!", Owen's mother pleaded.

"Ms. Moore, do you know how much product could potentially be wasted? This could be catastrophic! Unless-everyone here signed that contract, right?" At this everyone nodded with confusion. "Good, technically there is a clause in there that prohibits each of you from disclosing what happens in here. Man, I love contracts!"

"Chris, my son is still in there!" Ms. Moore reminded Chris, who snapped back to reality. "Oh, right. Well, first we have to locate him in there: he could be anywhere!"

"I see him, right there!" Courtney exclaimed as she pointed to a ripple in the middle of the river. Owen surfaced, breathing heavily, his whole body covered in liquid chocolate. "FOR THE LOVE OF FUDGE, HELP ME!", the portly boy managed to get out. He attempted to tread water (or chocolate, in this case) and did so for a few seconds before slowly sinking down and dipping below the water again. By this point everyone was watching everything, not even bothering to make comments to the others. Even Cody had his eyes solely on Owen who was coming up for air, but drifting further to the other side of the river.

"Hey, Chris, it kinda looks like he's moving closer to that big pipe over there. What are the chances of him getting….sucked in?", Cody asked Chris.

"Depends: If he's heading for a smaller pipe, we should be fine. He seems quite large, and the risk of him getting sucked into a pipe half the size of him is pretty small. If he heads for one of the larger pipes, it would be a really tight fit, but there is a slim chance of that happening" Chris replied.

"Yeah, the pipe he's moving towards looks pretty big. Still, he may be too fat for that thing as well!" Heather pointed out with a hint of malice in her voice.

"Would you shut it? He could be in real danger!" Courtney snapped as she blew another bubble with her ever-present piece of gum.

"Oh, please, little miss brown-noser! If you're so concerned for him, why don't you just jump in and save him! You've gotta be a record-holder in swimming or something!", Heather retorted back, and the two girls glared at each other until a scream broke their concentration.

"Oh my god! The pipe! He's headed right towards it!", Ms. Moore screamed. And indeed he was. Owen was now only about five feet from the large pipe. The boy was trying his hardest to swim away, but it was true: he couldn't swim. As the whole crowd watched on in horror, Owen finally gathered his bearings and turned around to face the pipe. Just as he was about to be sucked up, he paddled to the side with an surprising amount of athleticism for someone his size, and after a struggle, he was able to hoist himself up just a little bit so that he was no longer at risk of sinking back in. He was holding on to the pipe, both arms wrapped firmly around it, and he was breathing heavily.

"My god, he's covered in chocolate! I don't even think I can make out what pattern his shirt has on it!" Cameron said.

"Even worse: it's my chocolate! There's probably about $150 worth of chocolate on him right now! I can't sell that!" Chris panicked. He turned around to see a furious Ms. Moore looking at him.

"Who cares if you lose money? We need to fish him out of there!", Ms. Moore said, hitting Chris with her purse. "Ow, geez, okay! Interns!" Chris yelled. Two interns rushed over to him. "Go see if you can't get the giant net." One of the interns motioned for Chris to lean over, and he whispered in his ear. "Yes, I mean the one from the Giant Cow room! Oh-sorry, Ms. Moore, I didn't mean to say it that loud." Chris replied as the interns rushed off further into the chocolate room.

"Hey, everyone, I'm OK! My grip strength is really good, so I can hold on for a lot longer!" Owen yelled from his spot in the river.

"Somehow, I severely doubt that. His weight, combined with the constant pull of the chocolate getting sucked in the tube, means that sooner or later, he's gonna have to let go." Cody said, sounding more bored than anything else. His father promptly shushed him. Cameron noticed that Cody had his phone out, though he was doing his best to hide it from everyone else. Cameron looked around the crowd. He noticed that all the parents were looking around at each other. Chris was still pacing like mad with worry, but all of the other Golden Ticket winners seemed to be focused on other things. Cody was invested playing some game on his phone, Heather was glaring at Courtney, and Courtney was glaring right back while chewing her gum furiously. Owen even seemed to be more interested in looking at the chocolate river than he was in the rest of the group! Cameron, Grandpa Joe, Chris, and Ms. Moore seemed to be the only ones concerned with Owen's fate! Cameron looked at Grandpa Joe, who gave him a sad shake of the head, as if to say "I see it too, and I don't like it one bit."

Cameron suddenly noticed one thing: Owen had let go of his killer grip on the pipe and had started scooping his hand in the chocolate and eating it again! Everyone else started to notice this, and Chris and Ms. Moore in particular started to shout at him. "Owen, resist the temptation! Wait there and try to hang on for just a minute or two longer and the interns should be there to help you out!", Chris advised. "Listen to what Mr. Mclean says! Get your arm back around that pipe, young man!", Ms. Moore chimed in.

"But...but...it's so GOOD!" Owen pleaded back. With that, he began scooping the chocolate into his mouth again. A door opened up somewhere, and four interns came running in, carrying what seemed like a giant net. As they neared the boy, someone noticed something. "His hand is slipping!", Heather exclaimed. Indeed it was: since the hand wrapped around the pipe was already covered in chocolate, and since Owen was leaning to dip his other hand into the river, all of his weight was making it harder and harder for him to grip the pipe.

Just as the interns reached Owen and were about to drop the net into the chocolate river to pick him up, Owen's grip slipped, and he fell back into the river. From the shore, Ms. Moore screamed with panic. Once again, Owen struggled to keep his head above water, but he had started to get pulled closer and closer to the pipe, and this time he couldn't avoid it. Cameron saw Owen go under for a second, and then…

"My god, he's gotten sucked in!", one of the parents shouted. Owen had indeed gotten sucked into the pipe, and he was slowly rising up.

"Mclean, this is all your fault! My boy is going to get turned into fudge!" Ms. Moore screamed at Chris.

"Don't worry, he won't be made into fudge", Chris said with a chuckle. "That pipe doesn't go to the fudge room, it goes to the marshmallow room! If anything, he may be marshmallow-ified. But hopefully", he smirked "that doesn't happen."

"Wait, he's slowing down!", Cameron said. "He could get stuck!", Grandpa Joe said. "He IS stuck!", Sir Nicholas Watson exclaimed. Cameron could hear Owen calling for help from within the pipe, which was getting back up more and more with chocolate. "Can the pipe even take all that pressure?", Cody's father said. Sure enough, a couple leaks had started to form in the pipe, blasting chocolate almost clear across the river. Just as suddenly as Owen had stopped moving, he started moving again with an insane amount of velocity. "Wow, it's almost like a bullet fired from a pistol from _Death Rage Part V_!" Cody excitedly yelled. Owen was completely gone from sight now, presumably headed to the marshmallow room. Ms. Moore screamed and looked right at Chris.

"Help him! My son cannot be turned into marshmallow!", she said as she grabbed Chris by the shirt.

"Relax! Interns!", Chris called, and two of the small workers rushed to his side. "Take Ms. Moore down to the marshmallow room. You saw what happened with her boy Owen, so you must make sure he is not turned into marshmallow; It would be disgusting and no one would buy it. Take this stick and go poking around in all the vats down there", he said as he pulled out a long metal stick. "If you find something solid, moving, and fat, you should find him. Hurry, there's no time to waste!"

With that, the interns held out their hands, which Ms. Moore accepted. They started ushering her off to the marshmallow room as she looked back at Chris, with a panicked and confused look on her face. "Thank you for joining us! Adios! Auf wiedersehn!" Chris called as she was led through a door, which closed behind her.

"Is Owen going to be okay, Mr. Mclean?", Cameron asked.

"Yeah, he should be. I can guarantee everyone here that he will be ok. Do not worry about him, please!" Chris responded. "Now come on, we have so much time, so little to do!" Everyone looked at him, puzzled. "Oh, wait, other way around. Please, come quickly, on to the next room!"

"Wait, it seems like the interns are getting ready to...perform?", Cameron said.

"Oh, yeah, they like to do this. We better stay and watch, it'll be fun!", Chris said.

About a dozen or so interns stood in a line, and after a slight pause, they all began to sing:

_Intern, wintern, now we shall sing_

_Listen to us and you might learn a thing_

_Intern, wintern, sweet sour and tart_

_One kid is gone but the rest will be smart_

_Eating candy is so much of a joy_

_But eat too much, and you'll end up like this boy_

_He was too greedy, now his journey is done_

_He is the victim number one_

_He will not have any fun_

_Intern, wintern, don't be like Owen_

_Be nice and share and you are sure to win_

_We hope you liked our little song_

_Hopefully we won't have too sing all...day...looooooong!_

There was some scattered applause, but mostly confusion. "Come on, let's get on with our day! Wasn't that wonderful?", Chris asked the crowd as they began to move further down into the chocolate room. "I don't know, it sounded like a cheap rip off of a popular song", Courtney said as she popped her gum some more: In response, Chris shushed her. "Daddy, I want one of those interns. Make Chris give me one!", Heather demanded. "I heard that!", Chris said. "One bad little kid down, four good little kids left!"

**So there you have it-chapter 8 has been finished! As I hope you can guess, the intern song is sung to the tune of the Oompa-Loompa songs from the 1971 movie, but I tried to put my own spin on it! Thanks for your feedback, and if there is anything else you would like to see, feel free to review my story! Thanks for reading**


	10. Chapter 9: The Boat Ride

As the group walked down the pathway further into the chocolate room, everyone was still a bit panicked. "What's going to happen to Owen? Are they going to fish him out in time?", Cameron said. "I'm surprised he went up that pipe. I never thought he would fit in there!", Heather scoffed. "Everyone, please, don't worry about Owen! He'll be perfectly fine...we think. But don't let that deter you from enjoying the rest of the tour: we've got so much more interesting stuff to see!", Chris reassured the group, who seemed to calm down. "As a matter of fact, here we are!"

The group stopped in front of what looked like some kind of dock, albeit a dock that was made completely out of hard caramel. Despite that, it didn't stick to anyone's shoes, leading Cameron to wonder what kind of magical properties this caramel had. Everyone else was wondering the same thing, and Cody even bent down to lick it to see if it was the real deal.

"Cody, I wouldn't do that: we've already had one casualty due to falling in the river today. I'd hate for there to be two". Cody heeded this and stood back up. "So, Chris, why are you showing us this dock? I like that it's made out of caramel, but there's not really"-Courtney popped her gum- "much else to it!"

"Patience, dear child, patience! You should know a thing or two about patience, given that you've been chewing that piece of gum for, what, three months now? Anyway, here it comes!" Chris retorted as he pointed to a tunnel. Out of that tunnel came a boat, but not just any boat: This boat was made entirely out of candy. It was bright pink, and it shone like a diamond due to the fluorescent lights beaming down on it from above. It was constructed with a tall front and a tall back, with a flat middle: It resembled a giant Viking ship made of candy, with carvings of Chris' head at the end of the boat. There were tons of benches throughout the ship, with interns occupying those seats. The interns in the boat were holding oars (five interns to an oar: these things were very big), and in the middle were seats designed for the four remaining families. There was a fifth set of chairs as well, but Cameron supposed they would go unused, since Owen and his mother were not joining the rest of the group in the rest of the tour. The boat, Cameron thought, looked amazing. He could not wait to get on.

"This, my friends, is the S.S Mclean! The interns and I spent months upon months crafting this thing, and we are quite excited to show it off for the first time. Don't worry, we have tested it rigorously, and this baby should stay afloat: it is made out of the finest hard candy money can buy, and we have yet to experience any problems. Hopefully one doesn't happen today. Anyways, hop in! We've got a lot to see!" Chris said.

"Daddy, I want a boat just like this!", Heather demanded as she got on the boat. "Actually, I want a boat like this AND some interns to help row! Actually, I want all that AND a chocolate river in our backyard! The regular river we have in our backyard is boring." Sir Watson dropped his jaw for a second, but then put it back in place. "Of course, darling. I'll see what I can do".

The rest of the group made their way on board, with some not taking a second glance at the intricate carvings on the boat, and some, like Cameron, admiring the amount of work that went into making this beautiful boat. Once everyone was seated, they all began to chatter to one another: The parents were once again making conversation amongst themselves, Courtney and Heather were once again insulting each other, and Cody was secretly playing on his phone. Chris took a look at Cameron, gestured for him to wait a second, took out a mug he had in his pocket, and dunked it into the river. Once he had a full cup of chocolate, he handed it to Cameron. "Here ya go, little guy, you look like you could use it. What have you been eating for the past year, dust? You're thin as a rail!" Chris asked.

Cameron greedily gulped three quarters of the chocolate down immediately, then handed the mug to Grandpa Joe, who finished it off. "Oh my god, this is the best chocolate I've ever tasted! How do you get it so creamy?" Cameron asked.

"Sorry, that's a Mclean secret. A magician doesn't reveal all his tricks", Chris said before turning his attention to the group. "Ok, now that we're all settled in, let's get this thing moving!" And with that, one of the interns up front whistled, and all the interns started to row in unison. The boat moved along the chocolate river just like a real boat would, and it had the advantage of smelling amazing as well. Everyone was amazed as the boat headed into a long, dark tunnel. Chris sat at the front of the boat and smirked as everyone looked around them and saw nothing at all.

"Hey, Mclean, where are all the lights? I thought you wanted us to see everything in here!", Courtney said. "Yeah, and where are we going anyway? If we're just going through a dark tunnel this whole time, this is gonna be lame!", Heather added. "Well, I think it's fun! I would just like to see-*_pop*_\- where we're going, you selfish brat!" Courtney retorted. "You're just saying that because you want him to like you, gum-chewer!" Heather snarled back, and the two started bickering all over again. Cameron and Grandpa Joe rolled their eyes, and even Cody threw in a little "Would you two be quiet?", to no avail.

Mclean pressed a button on a remote he pulled out of his pocket, and suddenly the tunnel was filled with bright, multicolored lights that moved in a fashion similar to a disco ball. No one could tell where these lights came from, however: they seemed to be floating in midair. Everyone now saw that the tunnel was nondescript, with metal walls that were wholly unspectacular. As the boat began to move faster and faster, Cameron swore he saw something move on the wall, something almost inhuman. Judging from the gasps of the others, he assumed he was not the only one who did. Chris cleared his throat, and with a small smile, he began talking:

"There's no earthly way of knowing

Which direction we are going"

Everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion, but no one dared speak and interrupt Chris. They found this too bizarre to comment on.

"There's no knowing where we're rowing

Or which way the river's flowing"

"What in God's name are you saying, Mclean?", Sir Watson inquired, with a slight tremble in his voice. Cody had put down his phone, Cameron noticed, and was completely engrossed in what was going on. Chris did not answer, but instead kept on speaking:

"Is it raining, is it snowing

Is a hurricane a-blowing"

Suddenly, a scream. It was Heather. "Okay, now I'm _sure _I saw something on that wall! It looked like a giant disgusting bug!" Others nodded and said the same thing. Cameron was a bit spooked by this, but he didn't want to tell anyone. "Grandpa, this is getting pretty strange!", he leaned over and told the old man. "Yes, Cameron, strange but fun!", he replied. "Mclean, I want off!", Courtney's mother yelled at the man who was now chuckling wickedly at the front of the boat:

"Not a speck of light is showing

So the danger must be growing"

Heather was holding on tight to her father, who was breaking out in a sweat, which was ruining his pristinely-gelled hair. Courtney had started chewing her gum faster and faster, to the point where Cameron was afraid her jaw might fall off. Cody was the only one relatively unfazed by this: his eyes were wide open and his mouth was agape, but Cameron did not see any other signs of panic or fear in the boy's eyes. His father, on the other hand, was quite the opposite, as he was yelling at Mclean to stop the boat. Even Grandpa Joe, who had been quite enthusiastic about the ride a minute ago, was now clutching Cameron's hand tightly as he leaned over and said "What is going on here?" Chris was raising his voice, and when he said the next words he was practically yelling:

"Are the fires of Hell a-glowing

Is the grisly reaper mowing?"

"What in the-what is going on, Mclean? I swear I just saw a lizard crawling up the wall!", Mr. Jameson-Anderson inquired loudly. "I saw it too! It looked huge!" Courtney affirmed, at this point chomping on her gum. "Calm down, everyone, I'm sure there's a good explanation for this!" Grandpa Joe assured the rest of the group. The interns were now rowing at a frantic pace, and Cameron could feel the wind whip past his face as the boat went careening down the tunnel. Cameron had indeed seen what looked like a giant lizard munching on a fly on the wall, but he was staying quiet; Whether that was due to fear, shock, or awe, no one knew. "I feel like I'm gonna be sick!" Mrs. Lopez cried out. "I think I already am!", replied Heather. At the front of the boat, Chris was now standing up, and now he was in a full-on yell, with a maniacal smile plastered to his face:

"Yes, the danger must be growing

For the rowers keep on rowing!"

Everyone had a tight grip on to their seats, for the boat was moving at a breakneck pace; They could hear the chocolate rushing by as they sat glued to their seats. The interns hadn't even broken a sweat, yet they were rowing furiously. Everyone was shouting indistinctly at this point, either for Mclean to stop the boat, to slow the boat down, or to share what insane thing they had just seen on the wall. Cameron thought he saw a crocodile opening its jaws, but he wasn't sure. The lights had started moving around faster and faster, and it was getting increasingly harder to see due to the constant glare of the lights, combined with the speed at which everything was moving. Chris raised his arms towards the ceiling, and he said with an insane laugh:

"AND THEY'RE CERTAINLY NOT SHOWING

ANY SIGNS THAT THEY ARE SLOWING!"

"Chris, stop this damn boat! This has gone on long enough!", Heather yelled. "I don't know, man, I'm starting to dig it! It reminds me of _Night at Killer Mountain 3: The Bloodening_ for some reason!" Cody stood up and said.

"Stop? Ok, we'll stop", Chris said, returning to his normal voice and demeanor. The boat came to a screeching halt, and Cody was thrown forward and landed on the floor with a bang. "We're near where we need to be, anyway! If you look to your left, you'll see the Whipping Room!" Everyone was silent, mouths wide open, terror on their faces, for what seemed like a good thirty seconds. "Daddy, when you buy my chocolate river, please don't put one of those freaky tunnels in there!" Heather told her father, who readily agreed. "C-Chris….what the hell was that?", Courtney exclaimed.

"Oh, that? Just a poem I read a little while ago. Thought you guys might enjoy it. It really spiced up the tour, I see! Did anyone wet themselves? I hope not!", Chris replied.

"But what about all those...things we saw on the walls? Were those real? They sure seemed like it!"

"No idea what you're talking about. Anyway, the Whipping Room!" Cameron looked at Grandpa Joe, who raised an eyebrow at him. They both share a chuckle, as if to say "That was insane, but it was also kinda interesting!"

"Here is where I make all my whipped creams! We have a bunch of interns who go hit the cans of cream with whips, and I think that is why we have the best whipped cream in the whole world!"

"But that's not how you make whipped cream!" Cody said as he peeled himself off the floor, looking no worse for wear.

"Of course it is! How else can you make whipped cream if you don't whip….the cream! It's obvious, really!" Chris replied. The door to the Whipping Room opened, and it was just as Chris described: a team of interns were hard at work using a bullwhip on giant buckets of cream. As the boat drifted along slowly, Chris suddenly motioned for the interns to stop rowing. "Here it is, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Our next stop! I am super excited to show this to you! Please exit the boat in an orderly manner; no pushing or shoving! Courtney, Heather, that means you! I hope you enjoyed your ride aboard the SS Mclean, and be sure to thank the interns for doing such a great job rowing you guys here!" Chris said, in his best imitation of a flight attendant. Cameron and Grandpa Joe waved to the interns, thanking them for their job. In spite of Mclean's instructions, Courtney elbowed her way to be off the boat first. She stood there and said "Let it be known that I was the first one off the boat, therefore I was the first person to survive the boat ride of doom! I should add that to my record collection", to which everyone groaned.

Once everyone had left the boat, it sped off, leaving them in front of a giant set of steel doors with a sign over it that simply said "THE INVENTING ROOM". Chris opened the doors and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in!", with a little chuckle.

**Well, there you have it! My longest chapter yet! I tried to do my best with the boat ride, and hopefully I succeeded in making it both accurate to the source material and in-character. As always, let me know if you have any suggestions, recommendations, etc. and I hope to see you again when I write about the Inventing Room! TUS**


	11. Chapter 10: The Inventing Room

The room the group walked into was similar in size to the chocolate room; it was massive. As opposed to the chocolate room, however, there was no edible grass or lollipop trees. This was a large room that contained many, many machines. Giant machines lined the walls and spit out some kind of chocolate or candy creation every minute. Despite that, they didn't make any noise as they churned and shook. The room was brightly lit, but Cameron did not see any lights in this room either. There were doors all along the walls, with bright labels over them that described where they led. For example, there was the "Peanut-Developing Room", which Sir Watson seemed especially happy to see. There was the "Salt-Water and Fresh-Water Taffy Room", in which Cameron could see a giant pool of water, with taffy at the bottom. Cameron looked around and noticed that Chris was beaming and running around the room eagerly, checking gauges, flipping switches, and tasting different materials. It was obvious that he loved this room and was excited to show it off to other people.

"Welcome everyone! This is my Inventing Room. In here, I am constantly mixing, inventing, developing, testing, and tasting all manner of delicious sweets. Everything that you saw in the Chocolate Room, at one time or another, was made in this very room! In fact, when I was building this place, I had this room built before all the other ones, because inventing new types of candy is the most important thing in a chocolate factory! Speaking of which, I have a gift for you all", Chris said as he entered a room and came out a few seconds later with four little white balls.

"These are called Everlasting Gobstoppers. They're my newest project. It's like a hard candy that you suck on, except these Gobstoppers don't ever get any smaller. They'll last you the rest of your lives! And the good thing is, although it looks pretty plain now, they have an insane amount of flavor. Plus, it changes flavor every week, so one week it'll be strawberry, then the next it'll be lemon, and so on and so forth! With one of these, there may never be a kid who can't enjoy candy anymore!" With that, Mclean gave one Gobstopper to each child, who popped it into their mouth; Courtney didn't bother to remove her gum before she threw the Gobstopper in her mouth. "Wow, I think I mine is raspberry flavored!", said Heather. "I got root beer-my favorite!", exclaimed Cody. "Fruit punch!", said Courtney. "Mine is strawberry flavored!", Cameron said.

"How is it, Cameron? Tasty?", Grandpa Joe asked, to which Cameron laughed. "Grandpa, it's the best thing I've ever tasted! It's like eating real strawberries!", he replied.

"Glad to see you all like them! I needed some second opinions on them, and the interns are no help because they love everything sweet! So you guys are the first people to receive Gobstoppers!" Mclean said. Everyone was pretty happy with this news, with Courtney remarking that this would go in her record book. "Chris, do you have another one of those? Because I want one more!", Heather asked Chris. The man just chuckled and kept walking. Heather grumbled and told her father that she should get one more, to which the man nodded. "As we move past the room where we catch Swedish Fish-those things are really hard to catch, they put up a heck of a fight-and the room for Pop Rocks That Actually Explode, we hit one of my personal favorite projects: the hair room!" Chris said as he stopped in front of a door with a couple interns inside, dressed in lab coats and holding up some liquids in beakers.

"The hair room? What does hair have to do with a chocolate factory?", Cody spoke up.

"Glad you asked, Cody. You see, I had a friend years ago who was going bald and was really insecure about it. Now, being a good friend, I had to see what I could do to help him. So I spent years slaving away with equations, test runs, and ideas until finally I had an epiphany: What if I were to make some kind of candy that could help you grow hair? So back to the drawing board I went, searching for some kind of formula that would not only help cure baldness all over the body, but that would also taste great! Now, I'll admit, it's definitely still in the test process, but I believe that Mclean brand Toffee Hair Tonic will revolutionize the way we treat baldness!" He looked inside the room and pointed. "Hey, you! Would you mind coming out here and showing everyone what happened?", Chris asked an intern. As the intern came out, everyone raised an eyebrow. The intern had long hair and a beard that completely covered them. It looked like a rug walked out of the room, but then he waved to the group and gave a thumbs-up to indicate that he was perfectly fine, just really hairy. "Last week we had to use a lawnmower to cut his hair! So as you can see, unfortunately the tonic is not quite ready yet, so you"-he pointed to Grandpa Joe- "are gonna have to wait a little bit. Now on we go!"

Cameron piped up. "Mr. Mclean, could you tell us a little more about how you met your interns? I'm really curious."

"Certainly, Cameron. As I said, I was travelling in Wawanakwa at the time. I was searching for a kind of flower that was said to have a taste almost identical to that of an ice cream sundae. It is called the _Theobroma_, and it is delicious. But anyway, I noticed that every night around my campsite these terrifying animals would try to get into my cabin! They were violent, ill-tempered, and generally unpleasant, and I was even afraid of them the first time I laid eyes on them. It didn't last. I remember one night waking up to a rapping at my door, and when I opened it there was this really small guy standing there panicked. His name was Billy, and he explained to me that him and the rest of his village of interns were always under attack from these hideous creatures. Since they would attack them if they dare lay a toe on the ground, they lived in the trees, living off of mashed caterpillars and leaf stew. It was sad. So that day, I decided to help them out. On my way to their village, every aggressive creature I saw, I beat them up. Soon, all the monsters that I was so scared of were not scared of me! When I made it to the village, the interns were so happy that I'd conquered the beasts that they threw me a party! It was there I found they had an extreme love for chocolate and sweet things of any kind. It was then that I got the idea to employ them in my factory as workers and pay them in chocolate! They all readily agreed to this deal, and in no time I had them flying back to the factory! That's why no one ever comes in or out of this building: it's because my work force resides here full time!" Chris took a deep breath after he had finished speaking, as that had obviously taken a lot out of him. One of the interns ran into the room and emerged carrying a towel, which Chris used to dry himself off.

"Now then. Onto the next bit of inventing I've been doing. These"-he gestured to a wall with many strips of wallpaper covered in fruit designs- "are pieces of wallpaper. But not just any old boring wallpaper! The fun thing about this wallpaper is that every fruit on that paper actually tastes like the real thing! The strawberries taste like strawberries, the oranges taste like oranges, even the grapes taste like grapes! Please, everyone have a lick." With that, the four kids and some of the parents went over to the wallpaper and started sampling it. To everyone's amazement, Chris was right! The fruits on the wall actually did taste like fruits. The background, however, tasted like wallpaper, which was quite unpleasant to everyone. "I am glad that you are enjoying the wallpaper, but there is still one more thing I have to show you in this room! And I can guarantee you won't want to miss this!", Chris spoke up as the group came back together.

The group walked around the room, past more giant machines that were busy at work churning up some new delicious creation until they reached one on the end. "In an effort to be eco-friendly, the Mclean factory is introducing some recycling measures. You remember all those pipes in the chocolate room that Owen got sucked up into?" The group nodded their heads. "Well, 86% of the chocolate that would otherwise be funneled right out of the factory is now sucked up over here to this machine, which divides it based on what room it'll go to. For example, there is a compartment for chocolate going to the Hot Fudge room, and another one for the caramel room, and so on and so forth. There are a ton of compartments in this machine, that's why it's so big! And unless there are any more questions, I'll let you look around this room for a few minutes. Explore the machines! Look in the different rooms! My only rule is that you don't fiddle with the machines. Please, they are very expensive." The group went forth and explored all the wondrous machines and rooms. Cody was struggling not to take a picture of the hair room, but his phone stayed in his pocket. Heather was looking at the machine that was currently making a giant block of marshmallow. Cameron and Grandpa Joe had wandered over to a room where interns were tasting different combinations of chocolate and salty foods (one of the interns was eating a chocolate-covered potato chip, while the other one was trying a chocolate-covered pretzel). Grandpa Joe and Cameron continued watching this process, and the interns offered them samples of the different combinations they had deemed delicious. After a time, Grandpa Joe looked at Cameron and said "Well, what do ya say, Cam? Wanna go see what Mr. Mclean's up to? This is all so interesting, I gotta ask the man a couple questions!" Cameron readily agreed, and the rest of the group had the same idea, as they reconvened with Chris. As they were about to leave, Courtney called out to him: "Hey, Chris, what does this machine do? It looks a lot newer than the other machines." Indeed it did: this machine was significantly larger and shinier than the rest of the machines. It had a wide circular base with a long tube leading up to the ceiling. There were many offshoots of this tube that led to large steel containers lifted high in the air.

"Oh, that's for another project I'm working on, but it's not ready yet. You wouldn't like it", Chris shrugged. "Oh, come on, what's the worst that can happen? If you're gonna let us see all the other machines, we should get to see this one too!", Courtney persisted.

Chris hesitated for a second, mulling it over in his brain. "Yeah, you're right, I guess there's no harm in showing you what it is. Alright, everyone, gather around!" Everyone crowded around the large machine. Chris pressed a bunch of buttons on the side of the machine, and it roared to life. Cameron could hear the sound of materials being dropped from the containers in the air down to the circular base of the machine. There was nearly a minute of hissing, chopping, stirring, and squishing, until finally the machine stopped. Everyone looked panicked. "Is it broken?" Cameron said. "It sure looks broken, that piece of junk", said Heather. "No, no, everyone, it's almost done!" Chris reassured them. Sure enough, a metallic _whrr _came from the machine, and a little slot that sat next to all the buttons started opening. Everyone crowded in to get a good peek, and eventually a thin gray strip of something started coming out of it. Everyone was now puzzled and curious, except for Courtney, who was wide-eyed.

"What is that?", asked Heather.

"It looks kinda gross", said Cody.

"I don't know what that is!", said Cameron.

"By gum, it's gum!", said Courtney.

"Right you are, Courtney! This is what I like to call Three Course Meal Gum!", exclaimed Chris.

**Hey everyone! So I decided that after I finish this story, what I want to do going forward is to recreate classic movies with Total Drama characters. If you have any suggestions, please let me know! I'm pretty sure I know what I'm gonna do next, so if you're interested in finding out, shoot me a DM and I'll let you know. Thanks again for reading!**

**TUS**


	12. Chapter 11: Three-Course Meal Gum

"Three Course Meal Gum? What the heck is that?", Heather asked. Chris chuckled for a second before holding the thin gray strip up for all to see (it wasn't very impressive, just a gray blob, the group thought).

"Well, this is my newest invention, and possibly my most important one! You see, while it may look like an ordinary strip of gum, I believe this baby has the power to change the world!" Chris said.

"Why, does it taste really good? Is that what it does?", Cody scoffed. "Oh man, does it ever! But saying the only thing it does is taste good would be ridiculous!" Chris replied. "So could you please tell us what it does?", prompted Cameron.

"Certainly! This little piece of gum can quite possibly end world hunger!" With that, everyone started to laugh a little bit, save for Cameron and Grandpa Joe (although they also looked a bit confused). "How on earth can a tiny little piece of gum cure world hunger?" Ms. Lopez said after she stopped laughing.

"Go ahead and laugh now, but I can guarantee you won't be laughing when these things hit the shelves! Instead of laughing, you'll be wishing you listened to what I told you!" Chris said as he let that sink in. "Although I don't leave this factory, I still pay attention to what goes on here around the world, and I watch enough of the news to know that there are far too many people here who don't have enough to eat! Even in this city, I see poor people begging for money and going through trash cans looking for table scraps every day. It makes me sick to my stomach. As someone who makes food, I feel like it is my responsibility to do my part in making sure everyone can enjoy a hot meal, all at an affordable cost!" Chris paused for a little bit after he said this, possibly to let it sink in but also possibly to give himself enough time to think of what to say next.

Heather scoffed. "Please, there's already a solution to the hunger problem. If people can't afford to buy food, they just need to work harder!" Everyone glared at her, even Courtney and Cody. "What, I'm just saying what we're all thinking!", she said. Everyone rolled their eyes and turned back towards Chris.

"Okay, Heather, that's a whole nother discussion to have, but all I can say to you right now is this: you are wrong. And you should feel bad. Anyway, so I saw all this hunger around the world, and me, being the nice guy that I am, decided I should do something about it. So I spent years thinking through ideas. I tried a pill that turns into a baked chicken when you submerge it in water, but that didn't work; all it did was break the glass the water was in. So then I tried making my own line of cheap, nutritious foods. But I realized that if I did that, I could potentially throw off the fast food market, and I know a lot of those companies would not be able to recover from that. Plus, I also realized that I am not the best cook when it comes to non-sugary food items. My first attempt at spaghetti nearly burned this whole factory down! So I decided against that, and I was thoroughly stumped as to what to do for a really long time!" Chris monologued.

"So then how did you decide on gum?" Courtney asked.

"Well, I was going over some figures and calculations when I suddenly thought of my Gobstoppers! If they could change flavor, I thought, what if I could get other things to change flavor as well? Once I had settled on that idea, I devised a formula that makes it feel like you're eating a full three-course meal (complete with sides, of course), all in a stick of gum! You basically get the nourishment and flavor of a full meal, at a fraction of the cost and none of the hassle!"

Cody piped up skeptically. "Wait, so when someone chews that gum, they're eating a full meal? With all of the calories?" Chris nodded. "So how does that work?"

"Trust me, it's a secret. If I told you all of the complex details here, I doubt your brains would be able to handle it! But yes, if someone chews this piece of gum, they would be getting everything they would get from a full meal: all the flavor, all the calories, all the good times! Once I put these things out on the market, we could potentially eliminate world hunger! Everyone would be able to pick up a pack and eat for a week! If I'm not mistaken, this strip here contains an appetizer of tomato soup, an entree of roast beef, complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, and to finish off, we have a dessert course of blueberry pie a la mode! A classic combination that reminds us all of Sunday dinner with the family. Just think of it: everyone having a good time, some show on the TV droning on in the background, grandma drooling in the corner...makes me want my childhood back!, Chris said with a laugh.

"It sounds impossible!" Cody said.

"It sounds interesting!" Cameron said.

"It sounds weird!" Heather said.

"It sounds like my kind of gum!" Courtney said. "Okay Mclean, would you mind handing that over so I can try it?"

"Oh, I would really prefer it if you wouldn't... you see, it's almost there, but it's not quite ready for tasting yet. There's just one or two things that have to be worked out, but I can promise you that once I've got it just right, you'll be the first one I call!" Chris replied.

"Courtney, maybe you should listen to Mr. Mclean", Courtney's mother said. "I mean, he did say that-"

" I don't care what he said, I need to try that gum! It's right up my alley, and plus, I'd be the first one to try it! It's like it was made for me!" Courtney persisted. And with that, she reached into her mouth, took out the piece of gum she had been chewing nonstop for almost four months, and placed it behind her ear. She stuck out her hand expectantly. Chris just stared at her.

"I'm sorry, Courtney, but I can't allow you to try it. It wouldn't be right" he said.

"Alright, screw all of this, I'm going for it!" she said. And with lightning quick hands, she snatched the piece of gum from Chris' hands, popped it in her mouth, and began chewing. Chris immediately gasped and wrung his hands.

"Okay, _please _spit that gum out right now! It's not safe to be chewing it!" Courtney just smiled smugly. "Look at me, I'm the first person ever to try Mclean's Three-Course Meal gum! That's yet another record! I'm gonna be famous! I'm gonna be popular! I'm gonna win!", she gloated.

Ms. Lopez had come around to her daughter's decision. "That's right, keep on chewing, Courtney! This is a marvelous day for the Lopez family!" The rest of the group's reactions ranged from amused (Heather and her father) to bewildered (Cameron and Grandpa Joe) to apathetic yet still paying attention (Cody).

"I don't know, it tastes really bland, almost like I'm chewing cardboard. Kinda underwhelming to this point and- whoa, whoa, whoa, I think the first course is coming on! I'm gonna keep going!" Courtney described,

"Courtney, please, spit it out! You shouldn't be chewing it!" Chris pleaded. But Courtney was right: she had reached the first course. "Oh my god, it _is_ tomato soup! It's amazing, it's like I'm really eating the most delicious tomato soup ever! It's thick and creamy, and it tastes just like the real thing!" Cameron was watching the whole display from the sidelines, and he turned to Grandpa Joe and said, "Grandpa, why isn't she listening to Mr. Mclean?" Grandpa Joe scoffed and replied, "Because she's not a smart girl, Cam. It's a good thing you're smart, because if you had taken that gum, I would've come up there and smacked ya!" They both chuckled at this.

"I don't know how you've done it, Chris, but this is the best soup I've ever tasted! Plus, it's hot, too! Man, this is amazing!" Courtney exclaimed as her mother cheered her on next to her. Chris was begging with her, pleading her to spit it out, but Courtney would not listen and just kept right on chewing.

"Hold on, I think it's moving to the next course! It is! It's roast beef, just as you said! It's cooked perfectly! It's tender and juicy and delicious! It feels just like the real thing too! And the mashed potatoes-they taste absolutely great! They're buttery and thick! If only the world could see me! I'm setting a world record!" she gloated. Chris was sweating bullets off to the side. "Spit it out! There's still time, but you've gotta stop chewing that gum! Please!" He even threw his hat down to the ground to emphasize the severity of the situation. Ms. Lopez did not help the situation as she continued cheering Courtney on: "Don't listen to him! Keep on going! Once we're done, we'll frame that gum and put it on the wall!", she exclaimed.

"Ok, I think that's it for the roast beef and potatoes...that must mean the third course is coming up!" No sooner had Courtney spoke those words that she gasped. "Here it is! Blueberry pie a la mode! It's the best one yet! It's like I'm eating a slice of the juiciest, sweetest, most amazing blueberry pie ever! And the ice cream is just as good! You've really outdone yourself, Mclean!" Courtney was over the moon with excitement at this point.

"You go, girl! You're almost there and- good lord, what is happening to your nose?", Ms. Lopez inquired. "Quiet, Mom, just a little bit more!" Courtney responded. "No, I'm serious, something's happening! Your nose is turning blue!" Ms. Lopez interjected. "What the heck do you mean?" Courtney asked.

But it was indeed true: Courtney's nose, once a mocha color, had turned a deep blue, almost purple color. "I mean, your nose is completely blue! And your lips! And your cheeks! God, your whole face is blue!" Courtney was chewing incredibly fast now, no doubt due to her increasing nervousness, Cameon thought. "Chris, what's going on here? Ms. Lopez asked as Chris weakly shrugged his shoulders. "I told her to stop chewing. Didn't I warn her to spit it out?" he replied, shaking his head.

Courtney's formerly dark brown hair had now turned the same shade of blue that her face was. The girl was starting to take notice of what was going on, as she raised her hand to look at it, only to recoil in horror as she saw it gradually turning blue. "Mom, what's happening to me? I feel kind of weird…", she said as her entire body was now blue. "Basically, there's an excess of fluid in the fructose sacs, I'm afraid, which means...ummm...excuse me" Chris said as he slowly stepped away from Courtney and joined the others.

Then something truly crazy happened: Courtney started to swell up. It started with her midsection, then moved to the rest of her body. Everyone gasped and took several steps back as the girl continued to blow up. "She's swelling up!", one of the adults said. "Like a balloon!", someone else said. "Like a blueberry", Cameron said. Courtney continued to expand upward and outward, growing larger and rounder with every second until she was nearly ten feet tall and perfectly round, and all anyone could see of her was a tiny pair of hands and feet and a head at the top. Courtney's expression was one of horror and shock, though she was still chomping away on the gum. Everyone was speechless for quite a long time before Chris cleared his throat and turned to Ms. Lopez.

"It happens every time. I've tried it on a bunch of interns, and I end up with blueberries. I don't know what it is, but it always goes wrong when we get to the dessert!" he said with a sigh.

"Listen, Mclean, I can't have a blueberry as a daughter! She's got school to go to, sports to play, and things to do! You need to get her back to normal!" Ms. Lopez yelled at Chris. "I've got an idea: you could prick her with a pin! Then she'll be back to normal!" Heather said with a chuckle. Everyone glared at her again.

"Not to worry, I've got a plan! Oh, interns!" Chris called out. Three interns came running out from a room and over to Chris. "As you can see, we have a Code B-164. You must roll Ms. Courtney down to the Juicing Room at once, and please hurry!" Ms. Lopez was shocked. "The Juicing Room? What are they gonna do to her?"

"Oh, we need to squeeze all the juice out of her right away, or else she's liable to explode!" Upon seeing the horrified looks on everyone's faces, he quickly added: "Don't worry, she'll be fine! She'll probably be a little...blue at the end of it, but she should be perfectly safe!"

The interns whistled to one another, and in an instant, there were about a dozen more of them standing by. In one fluid motion, they tipped Courtney over onto her side and started rolling her like a giant beach ball towards a large set of doors that closed once they were all through. "You should go after them, Ms. Lopez. Go be with your daughter!", Chris said, and the woman took off running after the interns. "Oh, look, I think the interns are gonna sing another song! This'll be fun!" The group turned to look, and some interns were indeed lining up to sing.

_Intern, wintern, we're back here again_

_Telling you all of a terrible friend_

_Intern, wintern, sweet caramel_

_Listen to us, and heed this song well_

_Being the best is lots of fun_

_But don't be too cocky when you've won_

_If you're obsessed with silvers and gold_

_Eventually it all gets really old_

_And to the Juicing Room you're rolled_

_Intern, wintern, don't be like Courtney_

_That boastful girl that behaved so beastly_

_Listen to us and try to be good_

_And always act like the interns….wooooould!_

Once again, confused applause. "Okay, let's move on! Please don't dilly or dally! We've got much more to see!" As the group started to head off, Chris laughed and said "It's kind of ironic: Courtney wanted to set a record, and she did: she's the first human blueberry!" Some laughed, but Heather laughed the most.

**Well, there ya have it! Courtney is officially out of the tour! I hope I did a decent enough job with this chapter (it was harder to write than you might think), but please feel free to let me know what you thought! Thanks, **

**TUS**


	13. Chapter 12: Fizzy Lifting Drinks

Chris led the group towards a set of double doors that were intricately carved with depictions of people eating chocolate, harvesting it, and making it. "And so, if I'm not mistaken, that makes two bad kids down, three good kids left!", he said to the group. Grandpa Joe raised an eyebrow and leaned down to whisper to Cameron, saying "I'd think calling _them _good"-he gestured to Heather and Cody- "is a bit of a mistake." Cameron chuckled before the group started to walk through the doors. "Um, Chris, are you sure Courtney is going to be ok? That doesn't look like something a person could recover from", Cameron spoke up.

"Nonsense, Cam! The science behind it is foolproof! I've had to juice many of my interns, and all of them ended up fine! Trust me, little miss gum chewer will be just fine. Now then, everyone please try to keep up! We've still got a lot to see and only one day to see it!" Mclean was walking at a brisk pace, and while Cameron was able to easily keep up, he noticed Grandpa Joe lagging a bit behind, breathing heavily. In an effort to let his grandfather catch up, Cameron pointed at a random door. "Chris, what's in that room right there?" Chris stopped for a second, trying to remember.

"That's a good question. I think that would be the room with Square Candies that Look Round. Very interesting room, but I don't know if we have time to see it. Unless someone wants to see it really badly." Everyone shrugged. "Too late, I think you'd like it. Come in!" Everybody shuffled in to see a large room with plain white walls. However, against one wall, there was a table with a multitude of square candies on them. The candies were unique, however, in that they had faces on them. They didn't look like real faces, but rather crudely drawn faces, not unlike those one would find on a child's stick figure drawing. Everyone was a bit underwhelmed when they saw them.

"I don't get it. They don't look round, they look square!" Heather said.

"Yeah, they're completely square. Are we looking at them wrong?" Cody chimed in.

"Wrong and wrong, dear children! Although these candies are square, they look round! Just watch!" And with that, Chris held up his index finger and moved from side to side. Amazingly, the squares followed his finger with their eyes, moving it to one side and then the other. Everyone gasped.

"That's crazy! How did you get them to do that?" One of the parents asked.

"I want one of those!" Heather yelled at her dad.

"Did you bring us in this room just so you could make a cheap joke?" Cody asked, to which Chris laughed. "Maybe, maybe not. I just thought you might like it! Now that everyone's had a good look, step outside and I'll show you another one of my new, never-before-seen inventions!" The group walked at a steady clip past a variety of rooms that ranged from a janitor's closet to rooms for specific types of candy. One of the rooms they passed was labeled the Butterscotch, Buttergin, and Buttervodka Room; The whole name barely fit on the door.

"Say, Mclean, this room looks really fascinating. What goes on in there?" Sir Watson asked.

"Well, that room is where I make all my...um...adult beverages. I probably shouldn't tell you too much because there are delicate ears listening to this, but…"

"Hey genius, we know what alcohol is. You don't have to avoid it", Cody said sarcastically.

"Alright, _fine" _Chris said as he rolled his eyes for a brief second before plastering on his signature smile once more. "I started out by making butterscotch in this room-the candy, not the beverage-but then once people started reaching out to me about making actual butter_scotch_, I decided, what the heck, I'll join that market. So I released the first variety a couple of years back, and I've steadily been testing out and marketing other flavors ever since. I'm currently working on a butterbourbon, but I haven't been too pleased with the results so far."

"Does it have some weird side effect too? Like, does it make your head shrink or something?", Heather snarked.

"Nah, it just tastes bad. Although that would be pretty funny. Anyways, the interns seem to really love this room. Sometimes I have to go in there and shoo them all out, but honestly, there really isn't that much to see in the room, so off we go!" As the group walked away, they could hear tiny voices from the room, laughing and yelling. The group walked down a long hallway with many twists and turns, leading Cody's father to believe they were lost at one point. Cameron himself was eventually pretty confused as to where they were going after a while. He was about to ask where they were going when Grandpa Joe piped up and asked himself: "Chris, where the heck are we going? We've been walking for what seems like fifteen minutes!" Chris looked back and chuckled.

"That's because we've been walking for twenty! Don't worry, we're almost there, and the good thing is the things I wanted to show you are really close to each other. Ah, here we are!" The group stopped in front of a large set of doors with the words "Fizzy Lifting Drinks" written above. "Welcome, everyone, to the room where I am making Fizzy Lifting Drinks! You are all familiar with soda, right? Of course you are! Well, this new invention is going to be the next evolution of drinking soda!" At this, everyone murmured to themselves. "How can you evolve soda?", Heather asked. As they entered the room, everyone gasped. The room was essentially a large circle, with a walkway on the edges and a giant hole in the middle. There were giant industrial fans attached to both the ceiling and the floor, and large bubbles were floating between them. Even the bubbles looked surreal and manufactured as they glistened and darted in the air. The noise from both of the fans made the room quite loud, and Chris had to shout over them in order to be heard. Once everyone had found a place to stand, Chris began to speak:

"It's simple, really. When you drink a regular soda, nothing extraordinary happens to you, except for a happy feeling and a case of the burps. I've managed to take it one step farther: I've managed to carbonate these Fizzy Lifting Drinks with a special kind of bubble: one that contains a special type of gas. See, they contain a type of gas that makes you lighter than air. In un-scientific terms, it means you're able to float. And the more you drink, the higher you float. And trust me, it feels amazing to float for a bit. It's like achieving that perfect zen mode." Seeing a lot of blank stares, he paused for a second. "It feels really good, ok? It's something that will revolutionize how we view sodas going forward! It's one of the things I'm most excited to continue to develop and eventually release to the world. Trust me, these will be huge! Now come along, everyone, I don't want to linger too much, and there's a couple more interesting rooms you need to see!" Cameron was enthralled by the room: of all the rooms they had visited, this may have been the coolest.

With that, everyone started to exit the room. Cameron took a couple steps towards the door once everyone had left before he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Grandpa Joe, who hadn't moved from his spot. "Hold on, Cameron, let's take a bit of a longer look at this. It seems really fascinating!" Cameron looked at his grandfather quizzically, then looked back to the doors and the fading chatter of the group. "But Grandpa, the tour is moving on! I think we should catch up with them."

"Oh, come on, Cam. I saw how interested you were in this room. It would be a waste to not be here and enjoy it a little further, wouldn't it?", Grandpa Joe replied.

"Well, I guess you're right. This room is pretty sweet. How do you think these bubbles make you float? Must be some kind of weird science I wouldn't understand."

"Yeah, I'm not even gonna try and understand how it works; I wouldn't be able to. So how are you enjoying the tour so far, Cam?"

"Oh, this has gotta be the best trip I've ever been on! It seems like every room is greater than the last!"

"I agree! I'm so glad you got to go on this trip as well. We've been dealt losing hands for so long, it's finally nice to see a Wilkins get a win every once in a blue moon." The pair stood in silence for a couple seconds, admiring the marvel that was the Fizzy Lifting Drink room. During this time, Cameron was thinking something over in his head.

"Hey, what would happen if we tried the Fizzy Lifting Drink bubbles? Like seriously, what would be the harm?", he said after a long pause. "Wh...what do you mean, Cam?", Grandpa Joe replied.

"I want to try this. Just once. You said it: the Wilkinses never get wins. As long as I'm here, I want to have as much fun as possible. Let's try one of these bubbles." Cameron was more resolute in his tone this time.

"You sure, Cam? Mr. Mclean didn't say we could try them. What if something crazy happens? What if you or I get kicked out because of this?

"That's a risk I'm willing to take. Just this once." And with that, Cameron leaned over the railing and inhaled one of the bubbles. "Mmmm...tastes like orange cream soda! Woah, Grandpa, look at this!" Cameron had started to rise off the ground. Chris was right, Cameron thought: it did feel super good! "Come on, Grandpa, try it!", he called out to his dubious grandfather.

"Well, alrighty then, if you insist!", he said as he inhaled a bubble, and soon the two were floating five feet above the ground. They swam through the air as they laughed and had a good time. Cameron and Grandpa Joe both ingested several more bubbles, and before they knew it, they were soaring high above the ground. They were having a great time until Cameron noticed something.

"Hey, Grandpa, is it just me or is the noise of the fan getting louder?", he called out. "Yeah, I was noticing that too, but I thought it was just some wacky side effect!", Grandpa Joe responded. They both looked up and gasped. They were headed straight for the fan, which was rapidly coming closer and closer to them by the second.

"Oh, no, Cam, what do we do? We're about to be diced to pieces by that giant thing!", Grandpa Joe yelled.

"I'm not sure! I forgot that thing was up there!", the boy responded.

"How could you forget? It's super loud!"

"One second, I'm thinking!"

"Well think quickly, because that fan is getting pretty close!" Indeed it was: the fan, which was a good 30 feet off the ground, was now only a couple feet from their heads. Cameron was panicking as his mind went blank. What could he do? Surely this couldn't be the end of him and Grandpa Joe, he thought.

"Maybe if we swim to one side we can *_burp* _escape it!" Cameron said. As he burped, he dropped down a couple feet. Grandpa Joe saw that and immediately sucked in some air.

"Cameron, you may be on to something! When you burped, you started to drop!"

"Oh, excuse me. I forgot to say that afterwards."

"No! I mean, *_burp* _after you burped, you dropped a couple feet! I think this is how we get out of this *_burp* _predicament!"

"Haha, I get it! All we have to do is *_burp* _belch our way down! I read you loud and clear!" And with that, the two burped many times, laughing after each one until they were just about to the ground. One final long burp from each made their feet touch the ground, and they sighed with relief before kissing the ground. They recoiled as they realized the ground was not made out of candy but steel.

"Way to go, Cam! Your ingenuity got us away from almost certain death! I thought we were goners up there!" Grandpa Joe exclaimed.

With a smile, Cameron said "For a second there, I thought that too!" They looked at each other before Cameron jumped. "The tour! We have to get back to them before they realize what we've done!"

The two raced out of the room and down the winding hallway, passing rooms with many different noises coming from them, before they started to hear the sound of Chris' voice once again. They turned a corner and ran into the group, who were stopped outside of a door that read "Toasting Room". They stopped to catch their breath and tried to act inconspicuous.

"And that is how I got my start toasting marshmallows and-oh, hey, Cameron and his grandpa have come back! I was starting to wonder when we'd see you again! Where exactly did you go?" Cameron stuttered for a second before Chris waved it off. "No time for that now, we're right next door to our next stop on the tour! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...the Nut Room!", as the group came to a stop in front of a set of double doors that smelled of salted peanuts.

**Hey everyone! Sorry about the delay for the next chapter! I had final exams, so I was really busy and couldn't fit in time to write this. Hopefully this chapter is good, and as always, feel free to leave me feedback, be it positive or negative! Thanks!**

**TUS**


	14. Chapter 13: The Nut Room

The group filed into the Nut Room, with Heather and Sir Watson the most interested, thus leading the pack. As soon as Cameron entered the room, the slight scent of salted peanuts that lingered outside became much, much stronger, as it filled everyone's nostrils. No one complained, though. "You know, it's a good thing no one here has peanut allergies because I did not want to miss showing you this room! This is the Nut Room, which is where I prepare all the nuts that go into my candy! Although you probably smell them, peanuts are not the only thing prepared here, although they are the most commonly prepared nut here: We also prepare almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, et cetera, et cetera, you name it!" Chris said.

The group was standing in what appeared to be an observation deck, elevated above the bottom level of the room. A set of stairs led from the observation deck down to the floor. Similarly to the room with the Fizzy Lifting Drinks, the room was circular, with a high ceiling and a low floor. The Observation Deck similarly wrapped around the entire room, with a railing striped with red and white, making it look like a candy cane. However, the bottom level of this room was entirely fascinating to everyone. It consisted of a giant hole in the middle of the floor that dropped into a seemingly endless abyss. Stools were positioned in a large circle around the hole, and in front of each of the stools was a mound of walnuts, reaching almost six feet high each. Seated on those stools were…

"Squirrels! Oh my god, look at those adorable squirrels!" Heather exclaimed. Indeed, there were around forty squirrels standing on the stools. "Quite right, Heather! These squirrels have been trained to sort the nuts very meticulously. If the nut is good, then the squirrel will set it aside for use in my candy" Chris explained. "However, if the nut is bad, then it gets thrown into the chute, never to be used in my factory."

Cameron spoke up. "How do the squirrels decide if the nut is good or bad? Surely there's no way to tell them apart without cracking them open!"

"Wrong! It's actually quite easy to tell a good nut from a bad nut. See, if you were to take a nut and give it a good rap, just like you are knocking on a door, if you hold it up to your ear a bad nut will sound quite different from a good nut!"

Cody cleared his throat. "Yeah, but that doesn't tell us anything about what makes a good nut and a bad nut. Plus, it doesn't explain-"

"Please don't mumble next time you speak: it's quite annoying." Chris fired back. Cody protested. "Wha-I wasn't"

"Anyway, these squirrels can sort through almost a thousand nuts in a day! They have become really good at distinguishing between good nuts and bad nuts, so that only the finest nuts make it into my candy. God forbid a bad nut made it into a chocolate bar: it would not be pleasant!"

The group observed the squirrels picking up nuts. Just as Chris described, they took their little fists and rapped on the walnuts three or four times. They then lifted them up to their ears, and tossed some off to the side, while others went straight into the chute. The group could not hear the bad nuts hit the floor, so they imagined the chute went down a fair amount. Everyone was thoroughly impressed: Cameron was wondering how Chris learned how to train squirrels this well. He chalked it up to pure ingenuity, because there really weren't any other rational explanations.

"Oh. My. God! Daddy, those have got to be the most amazing squirrels I have ever seen in my life! The ones back home don't do that, they just run away from me!" Heather exclaimed to her father. Grandpa Joe leaned over to Cameron. "Those probably aren't the only things that run away from her", he said as they both chuckled. Sir Watson was also admiring the squirrels: "I agree, darling! Just think of how much cheaper it would be to replace everyone in the factory with those squirrels! It would be amazing!" Chris was talking to the others about the process of putting the nuts into the different bars as the Watsons excitedly stared at the squirrels before Heather turned to her father and firmly told him something.

"Daddy, I want one of those squirrels. Go get one for me now", she commanded.

Sir Watson was shocked for a second. "I-I mean, Heather, I don't know about that. It's a good idea and all, but I don't know if-"

"Daddy, I want a squirrel NOW! GET ONE FOR ME! I NEED ONE OF THOSE BECAUSE I'M GETTING BORED OF ALL MY OTHER PETS BACK HOME! THE PONIES ARE ANNOYING ME AND I DON'T LIKE THE CATS OR THE DOGS! IF YOU DON'T GET ME ONE OF THOSE SQUIRRELS I WILL HATE YOU FOREVER!" With that, Heather crossed her arms and glared at her father. She took a breath and prepared to yell at her father some more, but he reassured her. "Don't worry, dearest, I'll take care of it for you." He turned to Chris and pulled out his wallet. "Okay, Mclean, how much for one of those squirrels? My daughter has made it quite clear she wants one. Would $1000 be enough?"

Chris cleared his throat. "No. They're not for sale." Cameron thought he saw Chris grin as he said this. "Er-what do you mean by that? What about $1500? Would that work?", Sir Watson replied quizzically. The rest of the group stood back and watched this with interest: This could get interesting, they thought.

"Sir Watson, let me say it again: They're not for sale. She can't have one." Everyone gasped. Sir Watson's eyes grew wide. He turned around to face Heather, who was literally quaking with rage. Her face was beet red and her fists were shaking as she stomped past her father and over to Chris. "What did you just say to me?", she asked, her voice dripping with venom.

"It's simple, really. You can't have a squirrel" He turned to face the rest of the group. "Now, the fun thing about how they crack the nuts is that-"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Heather let out a piercing scream that made everyone jump, even the squirrels. She pointed a finger at Chris. "YOU WILL LET ME HAVE ONE OF THOSE SQUIRRELS OR ELSE!" Chris laughed and said "Nah, I don't think so. You don't deserve one."

Heather turned back to her father, who was shocked but relieved that her anger was not directed at him. "Daddy, I demand that you tell Mr. Mclean that I need a squirrel! AND an intern! AND a giant pink candy boat! Now!" Sir Watson looked at Chris, then back to Heather, then back to Chris. Heather stomped her foot. "Fine! If you're not gonna do anything about it, then I'll do something!" And with that, Heather started walking down the stairs leading to the floor.

"Wait, Heather, come back please! Let's talk about it!" Chris said sarcastically as the girl reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around the room. Everyone moved to the railing of the observation deck as Heather started walking towards the center of the room. "I'm gonna have a hard time picking one out, they're all so adorable!", she said. At this point, all the squirrels had stopped testing their nuts and were now focusing on Heather as she walked from stool to stool, examining each squirrel. The silence was kind of eerie, Cameron thought. Heather was about halfway through her trip around the stools when she stopped in front of one for a little longer. The squirrel seated on that stool looked up at her and tilted its head.

"Ok, I choose this one! This one is the cutest!" Heather, with her mind now made up, bent over to pick it up. However, just before she could, it jumped up from its stool and landed on her shoulder. "Oh my gosh, how adorable! It likes me!", she exclaimed. However, her joy did not last for long. She quickly noticed that all the other squirrels had left their stools and were now racing over towards her. Around ten squirrels jumped onto Heather and clung to her, and she eventually lost her balance and fell to the floor with a thud. Everyone else in the room gasped, but Sir Watson was paralyzed, his eyes glued to the scene unfolding in front of him. Squirrels continued to pile on top of Heather until they almost completely covered her.

The squirrel that she had chosen now made its way towards her head before stopping to look directly at her. Back on the observation deck, Sir Watson was now panicking. "What in god's name are they doing to her?", he asked. "Well, I'm not positive, but I think they're going to see whether she's a good nut or a bad nut", Chris answered.

Sure enough, the squirrel reached out one of his paws and rapped on Heather's forehead three times. Then, the squirrels started moving Heather, dragging her towards the chute at the center of the room. Chris chuckled and said "Looks like she's a bad nut". As she neared the hole, Heather began to wriggle and squirm, but it was no use: the squirrels had a tight grip on her. "Daddy, help!", she cried out. Sir Watson was now in a frenzy up on the deck. Right as the squirrels got near to the chute, they paused for a second before letting go in one motion. Heather tumbled down towards the chute. She tried to grab the floor to hold on to it, but she couldn't grip it. She screamed as she tumbled down the chute into the abyss. Everyone was stunned, eyes wide open. Sir Watson turned to Chris. "Mclean, what exactly does that chute lead to?" Chris thought about it for a second. "Oh, you're not gonna like this. That chute leads to the trash compactor."

"Oh my god, she'll be crushed!"

"Not to worry, Sir Watson, they only run that trash compactor on Sundays! She'll be fine!"

Cody cleared his throat. "Actually, I think today is Sunday" Chris' smile dropped. "Well, in that case, I'll tell the interns to not run it today. Hopefully she'll be unharmed when we get her out of there."

"Nuts to that, I'm gonna go save her!" Sir Watson exclaimed as he raced down the stairs. The rest of the group, including Chris, were baffled by this decision as they looked at one another. Once he reached the stools, he stopped. All the squirrels stopped as well as they turned to look at him. Sir Watson took one look at the rodents before making his decision. He ran towards the chute and dove in headfirst, shouting "Heather, daddy's coming!", his voice trailing off towards the end as he went further and further down the chute.

"...Well, that happened. Even I was surprised by that, and not much surprises me these days!" Chris said as he turned to Cameron, Cody, Grandpa Joe, and Mr. Jameson-Anderson. "I guess I'll call the interns and shut off the compactor for the day…eventually. In the meantime, I think we should move along! There's just a couple more rooms that you need to see. But first, it looks like the interns are getting ready to sing again! Ah, they love doing this, don't they?" "These all seem kind of rehearsed. Are you sure they-" Cody began before Chris cut him off. "Shush! They're about to start!" The interns all stood in a line and began to sing:

_Intern, wintern, a third time we come_

_Will these children ever stop being dumb_

_Intern, wintern, toffee and cream_

_Unfortunately, now we are sensing a theme_

_Wanting the best for your child is right_

_But never say "no" and it is a big fright_

_Your kid will grow up a spoiled brat_

_Caring no more for others than a dirty old rat_

_And we don't like the sound of that_

_Intern, wintern, don't be like Heather_

_A girl who will never make the world better_

_Be kind and humble and don't be a brat_

_And everyone else will be cool with that!_

**And there you have it! Only two more left: we're pretty close to the end, which is both exciting and terrifying for me haha! As always, feel free to leave comments, reviews, critiques, etc. and thanks for reading!  
TUS**


	15. Chapter 14: The Great Glass Elevator

As the group exited the Nut Room, Cameron was suddenly aware of how much the group had dwindled. Where there were once ten people on the tour, only four remained. It was kind of eerie. As they walked down the hallway, their footsteps echoed against the walls. Chris would periodically stop and start, looking down hallways and thinking to himself as he went along. They turned occasionally, passing rooms that ranged from janitor's closets to others where machines were chugging constantly. The group walked in relative silence, with Chris pointing out some rooms and tidbits about those rooms to them. At last, they made one last turn down a hallway, and they stood in front of…

An elevator. What seemed like a pair of plain, boring old elevator doors. "Hey, Chris, what's the big idea? We walk for like, 15 minutes, and this is what you have to show us? A crappy elevator?", Cody questioned.

"It's not just any ordinary elevator, trust me on this one. Just wait and see, because as your parents know, patience is a virtue. I'm surprised that hasn't been passed down to you!" Chris responded, although off to the side Cameron heard him mumble "Not that surprised, honestly." They stood around the doors awkwardly while Chris pushed the button and waited. And waited. And waited until finally the light above the elevator came on and the doors opened with a *ding*.

"All right, everyone, please come in! This is my elevator, but as I said, it's not any ordinary elevator...This here is the Great Glass Elevator!" Chris exclaimed as he motioned for everyone to step in. Cameron walked in and immediately gasped. The elevator was completely made of glass, with all the walls, floor and ceiling perfectly crystal clear and see-through. When he looked around, he couldn't see an elevator shaft outside; It seemed like they were positioned right above the Chocolate Room, still just as pristine and delectable as ever. Grandpa Joe stepped on and had the exact same reaction as Cameron. "Holy smokes, this really is something, isn't it, Cam? I betcha we could see the whole factory from here if we went high enough!" Chris clapped the old man on the back jovially. "Well, I'm glad you had that idea, because that is exactly what we could possibly do here! This elevator leads to-hey Cody, Cody's father, get in here! You're missing my spiel, and I don't redo my spiels! Also, didn't I tell you to put that phone away?" Cody rolled his eyes, put away his phone and entered the elevator. His father soon followed.

"So _as I was saying_, this is the Great Glass Elevator, and it is way more different than normal elevators. With normal elevators, you can only go up or down, right? Well, this baby can not only go up or down, but it can also go left, right, forward, backward, and diagonal! It can do everything! As you can see here, we are currently looking out over the Chocolate Room from above. What do you think?"

"If we're right back at the Chocolate Room, wouldn't it have made more sense to show us this at the beginning of the tour?" Cody asked.

"Maybe, but this thing would most likely not be able to hold all that weight. Gotta think about it from my perspective, bud." Chris replied. "It's also probably a good thing that fat kid was the first kid outta the tour, right? He would probably break the whole thing by himself." Cody asked; His father nudged him and shook his head, and Chris said "I'd be lying if that thought didn't appear in my head a couple of times, but read the room, man. Read the room...Anyway, you may be wondering to yourself, how do we go anywhere? I don't see any buttons on this thing!" Cameron looked around and couldn't find any buttons anywhere on the walls. It was definitely odd, for sure, but he also knew that Chris had some weird genius that would make this machine go. Almost on cue, Chris said "There are buttons on this machine, believe me, but in order to see them, you have to do this!" With that, he put both of his hands on one of the walls and held them there for about five seconds before removing them. With that, tiny lights started to flash and buttons seemed to be coming out of the walls, until all the walls of the elevator, ceiling included, were covered in buttons. It was quite something to behold.

"In this elevator, we have buttons that will take us to every room in the factory. We can even travel to the janitor's closet if we want to! I wouldn't recommend it, but it is an option. Go ahead, take a minute and look around. See if you can find any rooms that interest you." The four guests started intently staring at the walls. "Cameron, look! The S'mores room! Doesn't that sound fun?" Grandpa Joe asked. "Yeah, it really does!", Cameron replied. "And look at this one! The Flavor-Changing Jelly Bean room! And this one! The room with candied fruits!" Cameron and Grandpa Joe were busy geeking out over all the different rooms, Chris was twiddling his thumbs and looking at buttons from time to time, but Cody did not seem to be paying attention, playing on his phone instead. Chris cleared his throat and tapped Cody on the shoulder with his cane. The boy got the message and started looking at the buttons. Grandpa Joe and Cameron were still looking at buttons when Cody exclaimed "Hey, wait a minute, there's a Social Media room here? What the heck is that?"

Chris chuckled. "Glad you found that one, I didn't want you to miss that. Yes, we have a Social Media room that is conveniently located right next to our TV room." Cody gasped. "Both rooms deal with the same basic function: finding a way for Mclean Chocolates to be broadcast, livestreamed, and distributed all around the world! We are always innovating in that room, and we have some pretty nifty little processes taking place in that room." For what seemed like the first time in the tour, Cody had a smile on his face. "With that all said, I think it's time I surrender control of this tour for just a minute. You get to pick the next room we go to! It can be any one of these buttons, there are no limits! So what'll it be?" Chris proclaimed. Cameron was excited: They could go to any one of these rooms! There were so many to choose from; it was going to be difficult to pick just one room to visit. Would it be the S'mores Room? Or perhaps it would be the Licorice Room? But then again, the Big Rock Candy Mountain Room looked interesting as well! "Grandpa, which room do you think we should go to? Personally, I've got it down between-hey, what's going on?" Cameron said before he was interrupted by a jolt. "Is the elevator moving?" Grandpa Joe asked.

The elevator was moving. Cameron and Grandpa Joe looked at each other with confusion before looking at Chris, who looked surprised as well. They then looked over at Cody and his father: Cody was still smiling, and one button was lit up, indicating it had been pushed. To the surprise of no one, it was the TV room. "Cody, you could've at least asked the others if they wanted to go to that room! Don't you think that was a little selfish?", asked Cody's father. Cody rolled his eyes and shrugged. Cameron was upset but not entirely surprised: this whole tour, the other kids had put themselves before him. Why should right now be any different?

The elevator started gaining speed as it flew up in the air. When it reached a certain height, it stopped and everyone took a deep breath to collect their bearings. Then the elevator shot to the right, making Cameron and Grandpa Joe stumble against the walls. Chris stood perfectly still: he must either have amazing balance, or he's done this very often, Cameron thought. The whole group noticed that Chris was strangely silent throughout the elevator ride. The elevator continued to move forward at great speed before zigging, zagging, and turning every which way. Up, down, left, right, you name it: the elevator was all over the place. The factory seemed just like a blur of brightly colored rooms. Occasionally, Cameron caught the figure of an intern, but he couldn't be sure. After a while, everyone had become used to being in the elevator, except for Cody's father, who was looking a little sick. "How much longer do we have to be in this thing? I'm feeling quite nauseous!", he asked Chris. "Oh, not too much longer. Blame Cody, he chose one of the farthest rooms away for us to go to!" was Chris' reply. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have pointed the room out to-whaaagh!", Cody retorted before the sudden stop of the elevator propelled him forward and onto the floor. "Looks like we're here! Watch the step when you get off" Chris instructed as he opened the doors into a room that was painted bright white from floor to ceiling. Interns were scampering around the large room, but they were wearing what seemed like hazmat suits and thick goggles. "Um, Chris, should we be worried about anything? Like the hazmat suits?" Grandpa Joe asked.

"Not at all, man! Although I must ask you all to put these goggles on, this room can cause temporary blindness, on account of how bright it gets. But you aren't in any danger, trust me!" Chris responded, collecting four pairs of goggles handed to him by a nearby intern. The group put them on, and now they could see things they had missed before, such as an enormous TV screen in the corner of the room, complete with a similarly giant couch and remote in front of it. Machines lined the walls of the room, blinking and beeping every few seconds. Interns had tablets in their hands, on which they were tapping away and doing work. However, on the floor at the center of the room was a large metal platform, raising about a foot off the ground. It was circular in shape. Above it hung what looked like a large satellite dish that was making a slight buzzing sound. "Welcome everyone, to the TV Room! As I previously mentioned, here is where we broadcast our chocolate to the world! Due to the rise of cell phones and the Internet, we have a Social Media division in here as well, tasked with creating the next huge Mclean advertisement. Although I'm not too into what the kids are into these days, we can still reach them! How, you may ask? Why, through their taste buds, of course!"

"What the heck does that mean? How can you advertise to people with their taste buds?" asked Cody. "It's simple, really!" Chris answered. "Alright, guys, wheel it out!" he called to many interns. Immediately, six or seven interns rushed to a side room and brought out what looked like a giant video camera. Not the handheld kind, but the bulky one directors use to shoot a film with. "This, my friends, is the Mclean Chocolate Transmogrifier!"

**Hey, sorry for the delay, guys! I ran into a particularly nasty case of writer's block recently, but the chapter is finished! As always, please feel free to review and critique, and thanks for your patience! **

**TUS**


	16. Chapter 15: The TV Room

"Chocolate Transmogrifier? What the hell is that?" Cody asked quizzically. Chris smirked and slapped the side of the machine. "This, dude, is like a video camera, but like, a million times cooler than that. And I know I tend to be a little vague whenever I describe a new invention of mine, but I can assure you that this will revolutionize the way we advertise and watch TV!" Chris responded.

"You also said that gum would revolutionize the way we ate, and that one girl turned into a blueberry." There was silence for a bit as Chris thought of a retort, but then he dropped it. "Anyway, you might be asking yourself, does this guy even watch TV? He seems way out of touch with everything. The answer may surprise you: I do watch TV!" No one in the group was surprised by this. Chris cleared his throat and continued. "After a long day at the factory, there's nothing I love more than sitting down and relaxing with the TV on, but there's one thing that always irks me: the commercials!" The rest of the group nodded in agreement. "I actually find commercials quite informative, as they can inspire me to create my ads, but none of those stupid ad agencies know how to do it right! It's just a picture of this, a video of that, a demonstration of these, et cetera, et cetera! It's uninspired and frankly boring! So, as I usually do whenever I have a grievance with something, I got to work. What if, I thought, you could not only send someone a picture of a Mclean candy bar, but you could send them a bar as well?" The group raised their collective eyebrows. "I can't say I've ever heard of such a thing, Chris. It sounds almost impossible!" Cameron said, doubting Chris for a rare second.

"Impossible? I think not! Without getting into all the science-y stuff that would bore you to death, I was able to harness the power of radio waves and TV signals in such a way that could make a physical chocolate bar appear in a person's TV"

Cody spoke up."What kind of radio waves? How can you manifest a physical item out of a metaphysical space? How would the tv know to-"

"_Shush_, man. All in due time. A great magician never reveals his tricks! But yes, it took a lot of trial and error, not to mention a couple months with energy bills through the roof, but I eventually got the hang of it! I tell ya, when I transported a chocolate bar for the first time, I almost jumped clear through the ceiling!" The rest of the group looked at each other, still very confused as to what Chris was talking about. Perhaps sensing the group's confusion, Chris continued. "Let me explain. Say you're watching a TV show and it cuts to commercials. Pretty lame, right? But just imagine me appearing on your TV and saying something like 'Here at the Mclean Chocolate Factory, we strive to bring you the best, most delicious chocolate and candies money can buy! But don't just take my word for it, try it for yourself!' At that point, I would use that giant video camera over there to zap a chocolate bar, and then..._poof! _You could just reach into your TV and pull the chocolate bar out to give it a try!" The group murmured in approval. "You mean, you're really able to do that?" Cameron asked, to which Chris nodded. "Sure am, Cam! As a matter of fact, let me give you a practical demonstration!"

With that, Chris pulled out a chocolate bar from his pocket (Cameron wondered how long that had been in there) and walked over to the center of the room. An intern met him and handed him what appeared to be a tiny remote control. Chris pressed a button on it and a pair of mechanical arms with claws on the end extended from the side of the satellite dish at the top of the room. They extended downward until they were parallel to each other horizontally, with a few inches of space between them. Chris then took the chocolate bar and, while gesturing to the crowd, placed it in between the claws so that the bar stayed in midair. "Everyone, please move over to the TV! You don't wanna miss this!", Chris then said as he went behind the large video camera. The group shuffled over to the TV, where a couple interns had set up chairs and were currently channel surfing. Cameron looked over at Grandpa Joe. "Grandpa, I'm not so sure those interns are supposed to be doing that", he said with a laugh. Grandpa Joe joined in on the laughter. "Will you two shut it? I'm trying to see what he's doing!" Cody hissed at them, earning himself some glares from Cam and Grandpa Joe. Suddenly, the TV buzzed with static before focusing in on Chris' face. The group looked back at Chris, who was currently standing behind the video camera. Despite him facing the wrong way, he was still being filmed perfectly by the camera.

"Hey, everyone! I know seeing my pretty face is incredible enough, but trust me when I say you ain't seen nothing yet! Observe!" With that, he pushed a button on the video camera and the room started to hum. It wasn't loud, but Cameron thought he felt the floor start to vibrate. He noticed that Cody had taken his phone out and was now sneakily trying to record what was going on. The humming continued for a little longer before the camera emitted a beam of teal light that hit the chocolate bar dead on. As the bar was hit by the beam, Cameron noticed something. "Hey, the chocolate is disappearing!" To him, it seemed like the chocolate was there one second and gone the next. With the bar completely vanished from sight, everyone looked at each other for a minute before Grandpa Joe spoke up. "Wait a second, what's going on? It looks like something's coming out of the TV!" "Is it the candy bar?" Cody's father asked. "It is! Just like Mr. Mclean said!" Cameron exclaimed. On the TV screen, an image of the chocolate bar had appeared and was getting larger and larger until it almost magically pushed through the screen with a pop and landed on the floor. Everyone stood in silence for a second before Chris appeared back on screen. "See? Told ya! Go ahead, try it, I guarantee it tastes like the real thing!" he said. Cameron picked the bar up, tore off the wrapper, and began distributing squares to the other three. They all tried it and were amazed by how delicious it was. "It's just like the real thing!" said Grandpa Joe. "No, it's even better!" said Cameron.

Chris rejoined the group. "I'm glad you think so! As a matter of fact, we also have a smaller version of this that can do the same thing with smartphones. That one is still in development, but the Mclean factory is moving into the 21st century! We actually have a research team dedicated to figuring out the latest trends, apps, and sites on the Internet so we can entice the teenage demographic." Chris opened a door right next to the TV that read "SOCIAL MEDIA RESEARCH", and inside were about five interns sitting in what looked like a board room. One was showing what looked like a Powerpoint presentation on "How to hit the Whoa: A beginner's guide". The rest of the group looked quizzically at the room before looking at Chris. "Well, they may be a little bit behind the times, but no more than other major corporations!"

"So, does the smartphone ad transmit a smaller candy, or will the same kind of candy bar be sent through the screen?" Cameron asked. Chris

"Good question, Cam! You were right the first time, the candy bar will shrink to a smaller size. But fear not, there is still just as much flavor in that small piece of chocolate! Already, we've contacted companies such as Youtube and Facebook to play our advertisements from time to time!" Cody glared at him. "Oh, come on man! Ads are the worst part of any social media site! Anyone who's spent five minutes on the internet can attest to that!" Chris shrugged his shoulders with a cheeky grin. "I mean, you have to be impressed!" he responded.

Cody rolled his eyes, then thought about this for a second. "So, if you can send a chocolate bar by TV, can you send anything?" he asked.

"Absolutely, it's not limited to chocolate" Chris responded.

"So it would be possible to send, oh, I don't know, a person by TV? Like, with the same technology?"

"Well, I suppose so, but I'm not sure why anyone would want to do that. But to answer your question, yes, you could send someone by TV."

"That settles it! I'm gonna be the first person sent by TV!" Cody exclaimed. With that, he bolted for the raised platform in the center of the room. "Cody, wait, no, come back", Chris said, with exasperated boredom in his voice. Cody's father tried to intercept his son on the way but failed and was left to helplessly plead with him as he ran towards the video camera. "Come on, Cody, please! I'll buy you another phone when we get back!" he shouted, but it did not good: Cody had reached the video camera and was now scouring the buttons for the right combination.

"Hey Mclean, how do you work this thing? Oh wait, I think I figured it out!" Cody shouted to Chris as the latter simply rolled his eyes and sighed. "Chris, aren't you gonna try and stop him?" Cameron asked. "I'd love to, but if he's already figured it out, there's not much I can do now" was the reply. At the camera, Cody pressed a button with conviction and rushed towards the central platform. The room began to rumble again as light began to emit from the camera. Grandpa Joe leaned to Cameron and said "I don't like the look of this, Cam. Not one bit." Cameron nodded in agreement. The video camera, now fully powered up, shot out a beam of light that struck the awaiting Cody, and the resulting flash was so bright no one could see anything for a couple seconds, even with their goggles on. When the light dissipated, the group (save for Chris) blinked and gasped: Cody was gone. Where he once stood, only a thin wisp of smoke remained. "M...Mclean, he's disappeared! Where the hell is he?" Cody's father asked.

"Well, you hear that buzzing above us?" Chris asked. Cameron, Grandpa Joe, and Cody's father listened, and indeed they could hear a faint buzzing. "As we speak, millions and millions of molecules and atoms are flying around the room right now, incomprehensible to the human eye. That's where he is right now. Eventually, he'll be pieced back together and sent to the TV, so I guess we should wait until that happens."

"Will he be okay? Or at least normal?" Cameron asked as Chris slowly shook his head. "Cameron, no one ever goes back to normal once they've been on TV. It's a well known fact" was the reply. "Wait, you hear that? The buzzing stopped!" Grandpa Joe noticed. "Well then, let's make our way over to the TV and find Cody!" Chris said as he started walking over to the corner. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels rapidly. The group behind him watched in silence before Chris jumped. "Aha, there he is! Channel 47!" Cameron and Grandpa Joe crowded in to see what was on the screen. The picture was black, except for a very familiar person positioned right in the middle of the screen. "Cody! You get yourself out of there this instant!" Cody's father shouted, to which the boy appeared to protest, but Cameron and Grandpa Joe only heard a faint squeak come out of his mouth.

"Alright, dad, go ahead and reach in there and grab him! Shouldn't be too hard!" Chris said. Cody's dad hesitantly reached into the screen, grabbed Cody and pulled him out. Everyone except Chris gasped. Cody was now barely nine inches tall! He was still talking in an almost inaudible squeak, but Cameron could make out something about wanting to stay in the TV. Cody's dad frowned. "No, that does it, young man! No more TV for you until you turn 25! No more phone for you either!" More squeaking, this time significantly louder and angrier. "Chris, would you mind helping me out with this?"

"For sure, man. I can have a couple interns escort you to the Taffy Pulling Room. We'll have to stretch him out back to size. No worries!" A couple interns appeared at Chris' side. He told them the situation and they, along with Cody and his father, exited out the door. "Wow, at least someone has the decency to stand up to their kids!" Grandpa Joe exclaimed. Cameron's eyes grew wide. "Wait, I'm the only one left on the tour! What happens now?"

Chris chuckled. "Well, there's one more stop we need to make, and then I can send you on your way. Right this way-oh wait, the interns are singing again! Let's listen in." The melody started up as the interns lined up and began to sing.

_Intern, wintern_

_For the last time_

_We are here to sing you some rhymes_

_Intern, wintern_

_Thanks for listening_

_Regardless of the joy we might bring_

_The Internet is fine, as it causes such glee_

_While the same can be said for our friend, the TV_

_But limit your intake to be a good pal_

_If you don't everyone you meet will have low morale_

_Too much is like a root canal_

_Intern, wintern_

_Don't be like Cody_

_If you are, people treat you like a flea_

_Live in happiness like the interns do_

_And you might learn something new!_

**Well, all the other kids are gone! Sorry about the delay again, but I'm pretty happy with this chapter. Please let me know what you think!**

**TUS**


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